The ISMD-History
The International Society of Markets and Development (originally the International Society of Marketing and Development – ISMD) was instituted during the fourth meeting of the International Conference on Marketing and Development (now named International Conference on Markets and Development – ICMD) in Philadelphia in 1992, and registered in Indiana. The first ICMD was initiated and organized by ErdoğanKumcu together with A. Fuat Fırat in 1986 in İstanbul, Turkey. Kumcu served as the Executive Director of ISMD from the beginning until his untimely death.
The foremost purpose of the ICMD series of conferences and ISMD is to spreadconsciousness of issues that arise from the diffusion and globalization of markets and marketing ideology and practices, specifically where efforts promoting development are concerned. Also of great concern is to nurture a greater appreciation of the fact that development is much more than a matter of economics. Economic growth is only one dimension of development, a process that involves many other dimensions; including, at the very least, ecological, social, political, psychological, administrative, and, in general, cultural dimensions. The goal of ICMD and ISMD has been and continues to be the promotion of research and other scholarly activities as well as publication and dissemination of findings from such activities that contribute to humanity’s understanding of such and reaction toward this complex phenomenon.
The ISMD-Mission
The foremost purpose of the International Society of Market and Development (ISMD) is
- to generate and diffuse knowledge/insights and thereby spread understanding and consciousness of issues that arise from the diffusion and globalization of markets and marketing thinking and practices
- to assess the impact of and study the relations between global markets and marketing thinking and practices and development, where development is understood as a multidimenional construct/phenomenon that includes not just economic growth but at the very least also ecological, social, political, psychological, and, in general, cultural dimensions.
The mission of ISMD is to help develop confidence and interest in researchers to investigate issues relating to relationships among markets, marketing, and multidimensional development. The goal is to aid in the growth of literature that helps human beings understand their condition in order to develop and organize lives and living circumstances that are preferable, sustainable, and just.
The ISMD-Core Activities
Toward these ends, ISMD will continue to hold ICMD conferences, pursue startingan electronic journal, seek to create special issues in other journals, help its members publish relevant books and book chapters, support research and formation of research teams, and promote greater understanding of issues regarding markets, marketing, and development through other means.