Evolution Versus Tradition in Marketing Systems: The Hong Kong Food-Retailing Experience

Abstract

By examining the Hong Kong food-retailing experience spanning the past five decades, this article demonstrates how the forces of evolution and tradition drive the development of the industry to the state it is today. It illustrates how the three major players—consumers, marketers, and government entities—within the aggregate marketing system environment interact in ways that shape the structure of the food-retailing system across time. The author argues that when significant economic and social consequences are at stake, public policy must be called into play as a check and balance to companies. The author emphasizes the need to develop context-sensitive approaches to policy implementation on the part of both the government and firms to ensure that the system can maximally operate to serve the needs of the broader society.