Marketing Research in the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

The role of marketing for consumers and businesses is rapidly evolving (Ferrell, Hair, Marshall & Tamilia 2015). Indeed, the marketing function is fundamentally changing as a result of the digital transformation, data, data analytics and most recently, personal mobile devices, such as infusion software, which track time as individuals work or play, can search for local businesses or customers while in a coffee shop, send an invoice or quote from a client’s office, and much more (Shah et al 2014). Marketing research design and analysis methods are also changing rapidly (Hair, Black, Babin & Anderson 2019). These changes are emerging from transformations in management skills (Henke, Levine & McInerney 2018; Davenport 2018), technological innovation, particularly in the digital space (Davenport 2018), and continuously evolving customer behavior (needs and expectations) (Wedel & Kannan 2016). To continue being relevant, marketing research must remain as dynamic as the markets themselves.