Marketing in the Public Sector: Towards a Typology of Public Services

Abstract

The concept of marketing has conventionally been viewed by public service professionals as inappropriate to organizations concerned with the delivery of public good services. However, the adoption of private sector based approaches to the organization of public services in many post-modern western economies has forced a fundamental reconsideration of the potential contribution of marketing to the delivery of public services. Against such a backdrop this paper critically reviews the underlying characteristics of public sector services and through articulating a classification of such services based on the nature of the organization-service user interaction, explores the application of particular conceptualizations of marketing to discrete categories of public services.

The performance implications of strategic capital for public leisure providers

“…We suggest that there is no need for a fundamental redefinition of strategic capital. Rather there is simply a need to reflect the specific context and characteristics of public services (Laing, 2003). This is underpinned by the contention that:…”

Brand Salience and Brand Differentiation of the Florida Forest Service

“…Second, public organizations have multiple roles and identities that need to be represented (Hoggett, 2006;Waeraas, 2008Waeraas, , 2010. Third, public organizations' roles and purposes differ from private organizations (Laing, 2003;Walsh, 1994;Waeraas, 2008).…”

“…Due to increases in consumerism and competition, public organizations are increasingly using marketing techniques, leading to more public relations and marketing staff in public organizations (Walsh, 1994). Waeraas (2008) stated public organizations are increasingly using corporate branding, but the application of private-sector strategies to public organizations is not understood (Moore, 1995), including marketing (Butler & Collins, 1995;Laing, 2003;Walsh, 1994). Whelan, Davies, Walsh, and Bourke (2010) stated that public organizations need to go beyond only providing public value to a point of also fostering relationships with the public, which effective branding can aid.…”

“…The study addressed only one organization, and while other organizations were brought up in the discussions, more in-depth discussions of other organizations are necessary to understand the transferability of the findings. Not all public organizations are the same (Laing, 2003;Scrivens, 1991;Wettenhall, 2003), and as such, multiple organizations need to be addressed to better understanding branding of public organizations.…”

“…One area where branding can be applied is public organizations. While research has focused on marketing activities of public organizations, there is a general absence of branding literature for public organizations like FFS (Waeraas, 2008), and there is also discussion relating to the appropriateness of applying private-sector marketing strategies to public organizations (Butler & Collins, 1995;Laing, 2003;Walsh, 1994).…”