Plural Logics in Marketing Systems: Managing Tensions Within the Social Matrix in an Ecovillage

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to develop a better understanding of the types of tensions that might arise within a market system and the types of strategies market actors adopt to form and sustain a marketing system. We explore how marketing systems can be sustained albeit the tensions amongst logics that underlie the social matrix framework posited by Layton. We set forth to answer the question: how can market actors navigate tensions amongst logics toward managing the specific elements within the social matrix of a marketing system? We use institutional theory to answer our research question and investigate the tensions that arise within an eco-village. We conceptualize ecovillage as a marketing system that involves a network of individuals working together toward creating a sustainable community. As a marketing system, ecovillages involve participatory processes and emerge in response to or anticipation of demand.