Reformulating the conceptualization of marketing in the context of public leisure services

Abstract

The authors deconstructed the prevailing conceptualization of public leisure marketing and concluded it rests on three principles: voluntary exchange, an open system organization, and self-interest motivation. A review of the genesis of these principles revealed that alternative principles were ignored. These were analysed and a panel of eight experts was interviewed to solicit their views on the relative merit of the prevailing and alternative principles. Based on an analysis of the alternative assumptions and the panel's input, a revised conceptualization of public leisure marketing was suggested which incorporated the principles of redistribution, the features of a closed-system organization, and public interest motivation. A revised definition of public leisure services marketing is offered based on these principles.