It has long been a belief that marketing has a positive effect on quality of life by delivering material well-being. Furthernore, many marketing scholars urge that greater emphasis be placed on marketing in developing countries to improve the quality of life. This conventional wisdom has not been investigated empirically because of inadequate conceptualizations of the relationship between marketing and the quality of life and because of the lack of necessary measurements. In the present study, these conceptualizations and measurements have been supplied, and a model utilizing a satisfaction/dissatisfaction framework has been developed and tested. According to the model, an individual's satisfaction with different domains of life (for example, work life, material possessions) has a significant positive effect on his or her overall satisfaction with life (quality of life). Data obtained from residents of the developing country of Thailand were used to test the hypotheses. Results of the study show that satisfaction with three domains-Family Life, Material Possessions, and Self-development-has a significant positive impact on overall life satisfaction. Additional findings and implications for government, business, and marketing researchers are presented, along with directions for future research.
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