The Soviet evolution of marketing thought, 1961-1991: From Marx to marketing

Abstract

The official Soviet ideology rejected most aspects of marketing, and yet there were marketing specialists in the Soviet Union, mostly in ministries, research institutes, and state enterprises involved with foreign trade. This article focuses on the development of marketing thought in the Soviet Union during the period 1961 to 1991, when the Soviet leadership was striving to increase Soviet exports, to push state enterprises to greater efficiency, and to deliver a higher standard of living. We report on the 1976 founding of the Marketing Section of the USSR Chamber of Commerce, and introduce eight early contributors to marketing thought. With the coming of perestroika and the end of the USSR, several early contributors continued to teach marketing and to publish marketing guides. We tell of the preparation and 1980 publication of the first Soviet edition of Philip Kotler's Marketing Management. © 2005, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.