Title: Internet marketing standards: institutional coherence issues

Authors: Patricia Ryan

Addresses: Graduate School of the Environment, Division of Environmental and Life Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, 2109 ' ' '

Abstract: This paper reflects upon the mosaic of institutional issues associated with gaining credibility for internet marketing standards. Strong claims for a predominantly self-regulatory approach are reviewed in conjunction with other factors that inhibit credibility, namely: competing internet worldviews, weak moral coherency and offline ambiguity about respective institutional roles, especially as regards moral dimensions of notions of regulation and self-regulation. The nature of the internet does not alleviate or weaken the need for either formal regulation or ethical responsibility. Rather, enhanced institutional coherence between regulatory and non-regulatory systems is needed to ground credibility in internet marketing standards.

Keywords: institutional coherence; internet marketing ethics; internet marketing standards; internet moral coherence; internet self-regulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2004.003691

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2004 Vol.1 No.1, pp.85 - 103

Published online: 09 Nov 2003 *

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