Final answer:
The marketing mix is falsely identified in the statement as consisting of external environmental factors, internal environmental factors, and marketing strategy. The true components of the marketing mix are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Economists analyze changing markets often by using ceteris paribus to isolate the effects of a single variable.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the marketing mix consists of external environmental factors, internal environmental factors, and marketing strategy is false. The marketing mix, commonly defined by the 4Ps, includes Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. These elements are used by companies to strategically position their products or services in the marketplace.
External and internal environmental factors are important in the development of a marketing strategy, but they are not components of the marketing mix. External factors might include economic conditions, competition, and customer demographics, while internal factors can be company culture or internal processes. Marketing strategy, on the other hand, is an organization's integrated pattern of decisions that specify its approach to pursuit of a set of objectives, including formulation of the marketing mix.
When analyzing a market, economists often use models that assume ceteris paribus, which means 'all other things being equal'. This allows them to isolate the effect of one changing variable at a time, even though in reality several factors may be changing simultaneously.