Wisdom: Exploring the Pinnacle of Human Virtues as a Central Link from Micromarketing to Macromarketing

Abstract

The macromarketing system is largely the function of many micromarketing decisions made each day. But this connection has not been probed thoroughly in the macromarketing literature, and there is a need for conceptual frameworks that can successfully link the challenges of effective micromarketing with the laudable goals of the macromarketing field, which focuses on the interdependencies between marketing and society. To this end, we explore wisdom, the zenith of human virtues, through pertinent literature and in-depth interviews with executives nominated for their wise decision making. We discovered that wisdom in marketing is characterized by the recognition and management of five central paradoxes (e.g., the need for expertise versus the need to admit knowledge limitations and the need to enact authority and accountability versus the need for ego control). We discuss the implications of these findings for the theory, practice, and teaching of macromarketing and for basic wisdom theory.