Title: Capturing marketing information and marketing intelligence: ethical issues and concerns

Authors: Pratap Chandra Mandal

Addresses: VIT Business School, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014, India

Abstract: Companies require information and intelligence about customers to understand them, formulate strategies for them, and serve them better. Companies collect this information either by themselves or by appointing marketing research agencies who collect information on behalf of the companies. Collection of information sometimes becomes a challenge because customers hesitate to share personal information with companies. Also, customers worry about the way the shared information is used by companies. Customers are concerned about the safety, security, and the privacy of information. Companies should consider the above issues during data collection from customers and also during the usage of information. The paper discusses about the sensitive issue of intrusion on privacy of customers, ethics involved, responsibilities of marketing researchers regarding sensitive information shared by customers, possible misuse of the shared information, preventive measures against misuse of research findings, and the initiatives taken by companies and authorities to protect the privacy of customers.

Keywords: information privacy; information security; marketing research; misrepresentation; preventive measure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBFMI.2018.088633

International Journal of Business Forecasting and Marketing Intelligence, 2018 Vol.4 No.1, pp.99 - 110

Received: 08 Aug 2017
Accepted: 03 Sep 2017
Published online: 13 Dec 2017 *

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