Abstract
AbstractIn today's digitalized world, people leave trails of data about themselves when operating online. While marketers are eagerly utilizing this data for marketing insights, many consumers have a growing fear of their personal data ending up in the wrong hands and losing their privacy. The aim of this study was to understand the role of ethics in current marketing based on consumer data and to examine how data could be used ethically in marketing. The empirical research was conducted by analyzing secondary data from a 2018 survey about the use of digital services in Europe. The main conclusions that can be drawn from study findings are that the need for ethics is even more apparent in marketing than ever before, because of the broad access to personal data. Giving the consumers the ability to opt‐out from data use and data selling without it affecting the use of services can create an enormous competitive advantage for organizations in the future.
Highlights
We live in a world that is significantly influenced by marketers
This study explores privacy more from an individual and socio-cultural point of view rather than from a political level
As the concept of privacy and ethics are culturally related, this study focuses on exploring these concepts from a European perspective
Summary
We live in a world that is significantly influenced by marketers. Marketing stimuli surrounds us in many forms, both online and offline, and marketers filter much of what we learn from this world. Consumers rely on marketers to sell those products and services that are safe and operate as promised, and to tell the truth about what they are selling.[1,2] Data about consumers is used to personalize marketing messages as well as to gain a better knowledge of the consumers’ needs, improving business effectiveness and increasing profits.[3,4] Every day massive amounts of data are created as we leave a trail of data from millions of messages, emails, photos, and videos shared online or by mobile devices. Data and the insights received from it are at the core of data-driven marketing
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