Marketing and non‐profit organizations in the Czech Republic

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the context and nature of marketing used by nonprofit organizations in the Czech Republic.Design/methodology/approachA number of senior self‐designated marketing managers in a wide range of non‐profit organizations in Prague were interviewed to generate a descriptive narrative of what these key persons understood marketing to be and how they devised and implemented marketing within organizational strategy.FindingsThe findings paralleled that of other research (1995‐2005) on the understanding and role of marketing within the profit sector of the Czech Republic. While marketing was identified as an interesting and powerful concept, non‐profit policy makers generally had a limited understanding of a marketing theory or of the context in which exchange transactions occurred.Research limitations/implicationsThis project was designed as an initial survey. The limited number of representatives interviewed and their purposeful selection from a small number of high‐profile non‐profit organizations limit the reliability of the findings and reduce the extent to which they can be generalized.Practical implicationsThis paper provides a useful entry point for those interested in the use of marketing in the Czech Republic, a very significant transformative economy in the centre of Europe. Since one of the authors is a native Czech speaker, the paper reviews relevant marketing and non‐profit literature in Czech as well as English.Originality/valueWhile there has been some interest in the understanding and practice of marketing in the profit sector, it is believed that this is the first paper to address the non‐profit sector – a sector that plays a very significant role within transformative economies.