Abstract
ABSTRACT A key function of marketing is the management of information between the firm and the market; and what is not communicated is as important as what is communicated. Thus, secrecy – the active withholding of information – is intrinsic and critical to the success of the firm. Yet secrecy has received little attention in the marketing literature. In this paper, we conceptualize secrecy from a marketing perspective, based on the notion of boundaries. Boundary creation, maintenance, crossing, and dissolution adroitly managed are all shown to be potential sources of marketing value creation. A typology of secrets is constructed based upon key boundary characteristics (genesis, visibility, and information) and their relative virtues and vices explored. Then, the notion of legitimacy is introduced to illustrate how management’s use of certain types of secret can be hugely valuable while others can cause serious harm to a firm’s reputation.
Published Version
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