MARKETING MANAGEMENT OF A POLITICAL PARTY IN THE THEORIES OF ROBERT P. ORMROD AND STEPHAN C. HENNEBERG

Although political marketing management is still a very popular issue in modern political science, surprisingly, only few studies have tried to provide theoretical foundations for describing comprehensive marketing process in political parties. The aim of this paper is to present two complementary concepts developed by Robert P. Ormrod and Stephan C. Henneberg: Political Market Orientation and Strategic Political Postures. Both authors have prepared a theoretical framework for complex analysis of marketing operations in the parties. They consider political marketing management to be a permanent process which includes mainly building and maintaining relations with various stakeholders and creating strategies. The article presents these concepts from the perspective of previous studies and criticizes some assumptions in purpose to indicate possibilities and barriers of future empirical work.

Information and communication technologies impact many aspects of the contemporary political life. A consequence of the use of ICT in politics is undoubtedly the evolution of democratic institutions and procedures. Modern technologies find their application as tools for exercising democratic power. This is why their importance is constantly increasing. The changes that follow application of ICT and their consequences are especially interesting subject to study and research. This article aims at answering the question how modern technologies (mainly the Internet) affect the processes of contemporary democracy and what might be the consequences of such changes. The deliberations shall concern the context of political market, where three processes between three main actors (politicians/political institutions, electorate, and the media) occur: informing, communicating, and voting. ICT influence these processes by quickening supplementing, and facilitating three various types of activities: sharing information, involvement in the political debate, and participation in the political decisionmaking processes. In the article, the author also pays attention to election silence as a phenomena functioning in the background of elections (which are a very significant element of the political market). Examples provided in the article come mainly from the practises and experiences of the Polish political life.