Marketing Systems Mapping: A Participatory Action Research Approach

In the macromarketing literature, marketing systems thinking has been shown to be extremely useful approach for understanding marketplaces that involve intricate social, cultural, economic and marketing exchange relationships. The purpose of our paper is to describe and explain a marketing systems mapping activity that was undertaken within an informal settlement community by way of a participatory action research (PAR) process. A total of 19 households participated in a household-level marketing systems mapping activity. The household-level systems maps and related data were used to construct a de-identified aggregated marketing systems map (and accompanying narratives). We report on how the community used the systems maps to inform local planning and marketplace actions. We conclude by suggesting that participatory marketing systems mapping is a useful activity to generate credible systems information, particularly for community-based marketplaces.