Marketing System Failure: Revisioning Layton’s Marketing System Model

Abstract

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to examine the mechanisms of long term marketing system failure from a path dependent, marketing systems perspective in order to identify ways of avoiding such situations in future. Using the model of Layton and Duffy (2018) we critically analyze the current plastic packaging crisis and its evolution over time. Through examining the mechanisms of failure from a systems perspective, we extend the path dependent, marketing system evolution model and advance understanding of marketing system failures. As a result of this analysis, the paper provides five propositions regarding where failure occurs within the system and identifies critical junctures where intervention (self-organized stakeholder initiatives and/or public policy intervention) can facilitate desirable outcomes in the future.