Stakeholder Marketing: Theoretical Foundations and Consequences for Marketing Capabilities

Building on multiplicity theory, this conceptual paper presents a revised theoretical perspective on the marketing discipline, contrasts it with the prevailing perspective on marketing, and shows why the revised perspective better fits the current reality. It argues that the core of this perspective consists of viewing stakeholder environments as continuous multiplicities rather than discrete multiplicities. The revised perspective explains three transitions in marketing practice: (1) exchange becomes complex rather than being dyadic, (2) tension between stakeholder interests becomes explicit rather than staying implicit, and (3) control over marketing activities becomes dispersed rather than centralized. The paper conceptualizes specific capabilities that are required for each transition.