Final answer:
The statement in question is false because marketing also involves considerations and strategies for distribution and transportation, not just development and promotion of products.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that marketing involves developing and promoting a firm's products and allows the firm's purchasing department to handle all distribution and transportation is false. Marketing encompasses not only the development and promotion of products but also includes decisions on distribution channels and methodologies, which can be critical to a product's success in the market. While a purchasing department may be involved in aspects of logistical operations, marketing strategies often include determining the most effective way to deliver products to consumers, which could involve direct distribution, third-party logistics providers, or a mixture of different methods.
Therefore, transportation and distribution are often integral to marketing strategies. In a market-oriented economy, firms are responsible for their own business decisions, including expansion, production levels, pricing, factory openings, and closings, hiring and layoffs, product offerings, mergers, and acquisitions. These decisions are made to attract more customers and to produce more efficiently in hopes to maximize profitability.