International Journal of Management and Commerce Innovations ISSN 2348-7585 (Online) Vol. 7, Issue 2, pp: (1260-1264), Month: October 2019 - March 2020, Available at: www.researchpublish.com
The role of Marketing in Zambia’s economic diversification process 1
Francis Mukosa, 2Moses Katebe, 3Serah Mbewe, 4 Mildred C. Muhyila Affiliation: ZCAS University Email: francis.mukosa@zcas.edu.zm DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7353891
Published Date: 06-March-2020
Abstract: This researched article brings out the importance of marketing in Zambia’s economic diversification and it demonstrates the role of marketing in each sector that contributes heavily to GDP in Zambia. The articles’ facts and literature were gathered from various publications from journal articles published by other authors and reports from institutions such as the World Bank, government ministries and banking institutions. The article discusses marketing as a strategic partner to economic diversification and its findings point mainly to the fact that each economic sector needs marketing in order to thrive. The article explores the concept of diversification while discussing the risks of dependency on copper and the reasons why Zambia needs to diversify its economy. The paper concludes that marketing is essential in the diversification process and that the regulators of marketing; namely the Zambia Institute of Marketing (ZIM) should be involved in this complex process
1. INTRODUCTION In June 2015, the Republican President Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu pronounced that posterity would judge Zambia harshly if it did not diversify its economy from mining to other sectors (Mvula, 2015). Since this warning by the President, there have been a number of strides to grow other sectors of the economy so that they can boost Zambia’s GDP and grow it from its current 3.70% to a projected 4.1% by 2020 (African Development Bank group, 2019). This growth in GDP means that there will be an increase in commercial activities in the countries key economic sectors such as agriculture, tourism, mining and education. The growth in commercial activities attributed to economic diversification have a huge implication on marketing. Methods This article is a result of desktop research which involved the review of journal articles and reports that have been published by various academic writers, government agencies and ministries. The data collected is mainly from peer reviewed journal articles and their findings. World Bank reports have also formed a part of the literature review. Other sources of information were a review of books and other online sources.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW Defining Marketing Marketing is the process of satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process (Kotler, et al., 2010). Without needs, marketing would not exist. Abraham Marlow emphasizes this when he describes needs as a state of deprivation (Aruma & Melvins , 2017). Needs change and as they change service provision must follow suit in being aligned to those needs. Economic needs are changing globally and dependency on mining resources is becoming less sustainable and this drives the need to diversify.
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