APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY OF SOCIAL MARKETING STUDIES BETWEEN 2000 AND 2009

Abstract

Our world is often plagued by preventable challenges which range from sicknesses like diabetes and AIDS to environmental issues like global warming. As a result, there are several interventions implemented by individuals and organizations to redress these social ills. Social marketing is one of the tools that have been used in such interventions. However, the intervention programs do not seem to have been implemented in a predictable and systematic manner. Therefore, this appreciative inquiry study was conducted on social marketing papers on the ABI database published between 2000 and 2009 identifying the best practices in the discipline and eventually designing a propositional model in social marketing. Consequently, the study highlights nine social marketing theory statements as well as suggests ways in which social marketing practice can be reimagined and executed.