Multilevel Marketing Companies Research Articles

EXPRESS: Buy! Buy! Buy!—How Multi-Level Marketing Companies Pressure Their Participants to Buy Their Products

Despite the popularity of multi-level marketing (MLM) companies and their ability to attract many distributors worldwide with the promise of an income opportunity, the financial outcomes for these participants are often unfavorable. Many distributors invest more money in internal products and business expenses than they earn. Drawing upon the professional and business ethics literature, this paper develops a conceptual framework to understand how organizational characteristics (collectively) create a pressure on distributors to overspend on internal products. The framework integrates legal, financial, and social dimensions, emphasizing the dual roles of MLM distributors as both victims and potential offenders. Utilizing this framework, the paper discusses the limited effectiveness of current safeguard policies in preventing the problematic effects of the MLM industry, including the operation of some MLMs as pyramid schemes. It proposes new directions for research on MLMs and other distinct areas within marketing and public policy, particularly addressing the broader category of deceptive income opportunity providers (DIOPs).

Review Based Research Topic Identification and Analysis on Multi-Level Marketing Business

Purpose: There are many companies who have invested so much of money and do their advertisement to promote or sell their product to the target customers. Multi-level marketing which is also known as direct selling is one which marketing strategy which encourages the customer or the users of the company’s product to advertise the product by word of mouth. The customers in large or group constitute certain motivating program to promote the product so that in turn they can earn some commission. The study aims at identifying factors which give opportunities for the customers to start a new business with the company’s product and in long run they can be called entrepreneurs. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: The study is based on secondary data gathered from a variety of sources including case studies, journal article, magazines, books and internet searches Findings/Results: The study’s main findings shows that many of the people are still confused with the concept of multi-level marketing, it always gets interchanged with the term pyramid scheme or money chain. As per the literature study there is a huge growth and expansion of multi-level marketing in India and other countries. There is an increase of companies who are into multi-level, and also customer tend to use the product of MLM companies once it has gained legal support. The increase in number of MLM companies have provided business opportunities for the people by becoming the product distributor. Originality/Value: The study highlights multi-level marketing strategy and the sustainability of MLM companies and the opportunities provided by the company for the people who join the company as a distributor. Multi-level marketing companies provide sustainable business opportunities for the people. Type of Paper: Literature Review

Downlining Disinformation: How MLM Distributors Use Gendered Strategies for Recruitment and Pastel QAnon Indoctrination

doTERRA and Young Living are multi-level marketing (MLM) companies sustained by distribution networks of women who sell their trademark essential oil products. We argue that women join essential oil MLMs based on an iterative, three-pronged strategy that not only recruits women as oil distributors but also simultaneously indoctrinates them to pastel QAnon conspiracy spaces: digitally driven, feminized realms situated at the nexus of New Age spirituality, wellness, and far-right ideologies. MLM distributors first compel women to look toward essential oils as a viable medical intervention by leveraging potential recruits’ distrust with medical establishments and hardship produced by intersecting structural inequalities (classism, racism, ableism, sexism). Women are then hooked in by promises of essential oils offering silver-bullet solutions to complex problems stemming from inequitable social systems. Finally, women get downlined into pastel QAnon disinformation flows through algorithmic production of confirmation bias. By coding qualitative data of MLM distributors and pastel QAnon influencers for digital content analysis, we identify socio-cultural and gendered trends of disinformation production at the intersections of wellness, pastel QAnon, and structural inequalities. These findings provide insights into the seductive appeal of disinformation beyond the textual content of the message and contribute to our understanding of the larger political economy of incentives and rewards that perpetuate disinformation-for-hire communities.

Fatwa Mui No. 75 Tahun 2009 Sebagai Formula Terhadap Stigma Masyarakat Anti MLM (Multi Level Marketing)

The development of the times makes a business develop rapidly by using various kinds of marketing and one of them is Multi Level Marketing or what is usually interpreted as multi-level marketing or multi-level marketing. Most companies consider that Multi Level Marketing can bring profits if this system is implemented in them. However, as time progressed, Indonesian society perceived Multi Level Marketing as a business that could be detrimental to its members and this perception gave birth to the anti-MLM movement. And the results of this research explain that the public stigma that gave birth to the anti-MLM movement was due to the emergence of Money Game companies masquerading as Multi-Level Marketing companies. For this reason, the fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council no. 75 of 2009 exists as a guideline for the Indonesian people, the majority of whom follow the Islamic religion, to be able to differentiate between the provisions for implementing Sharia Multi Level Marketing and the Money Game. And the method used in this research is by using a literature method taken through previous research and then analyzed using MUI Fatwa No. 75 of 2009.

Relocation of a warehouse for a cosmetic company: A case study

Warehouses are pivotal components within a company's supply chain, handling crucial functions such as receiving, storing, and delivering goods to end customers. While extensive research exists on the strategic location of warehouses in network optimization, there is a notable dearth of research on how to relocate a warehouse from one site to another, particularly while minimizing associated risks. This study sheds light on a low-risk approach undertaken by a multi-level marketing (MLM) company in Malaysia during the relocation of their warehouse. The study primarily addresses several key constraints: (i) Completion of the warehouse relocation exercise in 4.5 months; (ii) Termination of their warehouse staff services during the relocation; (iii) Elimination of disruption in the order fulfillment service level; (iv) Management of temperature-sensitive goods during the transfer and storage; (v) Seamless linkage between the third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse management system (WMS) and the company's systems. The primary objective of this study is to propose a resilient strategy for the relocation of their warehouse, taking into account these key constraints faced by the company.

Factors of Multi-Level Marketing Success Strategies Which Motivate Participants

Background: Remarkable successes have been registered throughout the world by individuals engaged in multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing, which refers to individuals selling products to the public, often by word of mouth and direct sales. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of MLM success strategies in the Zimbabwean economy and to identify factors that influence multi-level marketers in Zimbabwe. Methodology: A quantitative approach using a survey questionnaire was used to collect data which was then analysed using SPSS. A sample of 146 usable responses drawn from Harare and Masvingo was used in the study. Statistical techniques, which included exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the correlation matrix, were carried out to deduce the strategies associated with achieving success as a distributor for a MML company. Findings: The study findings suggest that success in MLM is dependent primarily on the following factors: incentives for motivation; team-building methods; and support strategies. It is from these factors that the study further sought to identify the individual variables or combinations thereof that could be endorsed as predominantly influencing the success of MLM in Zimbabwe. Value: Empirical evidence is provided on the latent constructs or factors that influence individuals to join MLM companies. As part of the practical contribution, MLM practitioners should focus on the compensation plan, trust, and commitment as key factors in motivating individuals to participate in MLM.

Speculating on social life

AbstractThis article addresses how a group of people in the San Francisco Bay Area turns social encounters into opportunities to make money. This group participated in sales schemes known as multi‐level marketing (MLM). MLM companies use a sales model in which participants earn money by selling products on behalf of companies while also recruiting people to join the companies as fellow salespeople. MLM participants earn financial commissions through selling products and recruiting others to join their network, leading them to hunt for new customers in public spaces or among existing social connections. The subjects of the study perceived social life as a commercial opportunity that could lead to financial gain, deliberately turning Saturday morning at the farmers' market or Sunday night dinner at a restaurant into an opportunity to recruit new customers. I interpret these activities as a form of social speculation: MLM participants invested their time in relationships that may 1 day be profitable, but they never knew whether their efforts would succeed. The potential to make money from social encounters was a constant motivator. Social speculation is an expression of a development in the United States in which people perceive social relationships in terms of economic potential because of precarious market conditions.

Work and identity in direct selling: meaning from work and exploitation in an undocumented immigrant network

ABSTRACT This article examines the work identities of undocumented Mexican immigrants in the direct selling industry, an alternative work arrangement in which they selling branded products and recruit others to join them as sales consultants. Drawing on qualitative research with undocumented direct sellers in Philadelphia, this research shows that direct selling pays in meaningful work and new identities, rather than in wages. While existing research documents the importance of hard worker identities for undocumented immigrants coping with structural marginality, undocumented direct sellers believe their work offers autonomy, education, and geographic mobility. Ultimately, multi-level marketing companies profit from undocumented workers’ precarity by promising freedom from work and from the struggles of enduring illegality.

Achieving motherhood: a qualitative analysis of MLM success stories online

ABSTRACT Multilevel marketing companies (MLMs) traditionally recruited participants using stereotypical gender roles. Today, MLMs use websites and social media to recruit women by offering opportunities for them to become “boss babes” and “momtrepreneurs.” They capitalize on family responsibilities and some women’s desires to be a mother. Moreover, race, ethnicity, and class are essential to women’s MLM participation and require consideration. The author conducted a qualitative case study to examine this topic, analyzing 34 online success stories or personal testimonies of one cosmetic and skincare MLM. Using the interactionist perspective, the author argues that the featured stories construct images of ideal women who love and care for their children, reinforcing their identities as mothers. Textually constructed for recruitment, these online success narratives link women’s ability to mother to this MLM. Unlike previous studies, stories include infertility and adoption and the relevance of race and class in the recruiting process. Finally, the author contends that this MLM leverages postfeminist and white hegemonic ideologies, displaying the deceiving experiences of women and mothers for profit.

Startup Culture: MLMs, Mormons, and Entrepreneurship

Startup Culture: MLMs, Mormons, and Entrepreneurship

LuLaRich

LuLaRich

Analisis Penerapan Akad Al-Ju’alah pada Perusahaan Multi Level Marketing: Studi atas Perusahaan HNI-HPAI

This research is to find out whether the bonus given by PT. HNI-HPAI is in accordance with the ju'alah contract. The method in this study is a descriptive analysis method from personal studies on various information such as websites, desktop sites, and other social media. The research shows that PT HPAI adheres to a Multilevel Marketing business work system based on Islamic sharia. There is an element of service in the MLM system, meaning that a distributor sells goods that do not belong to him and he gets a wage from a percentage of the price of the goods and if he can sell according to the target he gets a bonus or gift set by the company. Bonuses or gifts in Islam are called al-jualah. Sell ​​is a wage or gift that has been promised to someone because he has done a job and the wage/gift can be given because the work that has been determined has been completed. According to the DSN fatwa NUMBER 62/DSNMUI/XII/2007 regarding the al-jualah contract, there are 5 conditions that must be considered by multi-level marketing companies, especially sharia-based MLM. PT. HNI-HPAI as a company that adheres to the MLM work system has met the requirements of the DSN fatwa.
 Keywords: MLM, ju'âlah, HNI-HPAI

The Impact of Scenario Planning and Leadership on Non-Financial Performance in the Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) Industry

This study explores the impact of strategic management and leadership styles on non-financial performance in multi-level marketing companies. This study was carried out in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, using judgmental and snowball sampling methods. A total of 155 valid samples were gathered, and the data were analyzed using SPSS.The findings indicate that macro scenario, micro scenario, and transformational leadership significantly positively impact non-financial performance, whereas transactional leadership negatively influences non-financial performance. The industry scenario does not have a significant relationship with non-financial performance. These findings assist researchers and management teams in the MLM industry in better understanding factors contributing to better non-financial performance. Keywords: Industry Scenario, Macro Scenario, Micro Scenario, Multi-level Marketing (MLM), Scenario Planning, Transactional Leadership, Transformational Leadership.

Case Study On Illegal Multi-level Network Meketing Plans and Schemes

I looked at numerous papers and articles. Due to their resemblance to unlawful pyramid schemes, multilevel marketing (MLM) businesses are always controversial. They annually earn billions of dollars and hire many people, especially women. I can declare with confidence that these pyramid scheme-based criminal organizations have caused significant economic damage to several nations. Despite numerous frauds and the distortion of company plans, the rise of business appears legitimate. While the few heads of the network system are only productive, the tail became the survivor. The case study is being conducted to look into the MLM companies' CSR practices.

It Really Works! Qualitative Content Analysis of Multilevel Marketing Organizations’ Online Promotional Messaging and Recruitment Strategies

Though controversial due to their similarities to illegal pyramid schemes, multilevel marketing (MLM) companies annually generate billions of dollars and recruit millions of people, particularly women. The purpose of the present study is to assess how three major MLMs—It Works!, Young Living, and Younique—situate themselves online. We engage in a qualitative content analysis of these companies’ Web sites (including the language, visuals, and site navigation) to identify notable themes that emerge from online recruitment efforts. The analysis draws upon theoretical frameworks related to feminism, faith, and commodity activism as they intersect with neoliberal capitalism. The application of critiques of neoliberal feminism and commodity activism to an ignored but significant corner of modern capitalism shapes the development of a coding schema that unlocks a deeper understanding of how women are targeted by MLM promotional messaging.

Pyramid and Ponzi schemes and the repercussions of the differing regulatory approaches

Abstract Apart from a few shorter papers inspired by the nomination of a new crime prohibiting the organization of ‘pyramid games’ by the Hungarian Criminal Code in 1996, the topic of ‘pyramid and Ponzi schemes’ remained of little interest to Hungarian legal scholars. Internationally, the topic has garnered increased attention due to the grave socio-economic effects of ever newer scheme-collapses, from the high-profile American Madoff (2009) to the myriad less-known cases from emerging systems like the fiasco of the Albanian pyramid schemes in the mid-1990s, pyramid schemes camouflaged as multi-level marketing (MLM) ventures, or their online versions more recently. Comparative works that would juxtapose the pertaining laws and experiences of the United States with those of Hungary are lacking. To fill the void, this article contrasts a select number of differing regulatory approaches. At one end of the spectrum is the United States (US), which, instead of passing sector-specific laws, mobilized and adapted the enforcement tools of all utilizable branches of law to combat the schemes. While in the US this has been uniquely primed by securities laws, in Hungary the task remains limited to what criminal law and the criminal justice system could offer, coupled with the dominantly ad hoc reactions of the Hungarian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Development of tests to distinguish legitimate Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) companies from pyramid schemes disguised as such represents the only segment where significant rapprochement occurred between the US, the European Union (EU) and therefore also Hungary. For contrast and illustration of the other end of the spectrum, the systems that were forced to react to risks corollary to the schemes by enacting sector-specific laws, the most recent regulatory reactions of India, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka had to be resorted to. As the latter two imposed complete bans on all MLMs, it is only the Indian 2019 comprehensive act that attempts to combat the schemes and akin forms of financial fraud relying on a new comprehensive regulatory model. The Philippines is an interesting mixture made of local and transplants that readily proves that the solutions of the most developed US system could successfully be transplanted into a significantly different socio-economic environment.

EXAMINING DISTRIBUTORS SATISFACTION IN MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING COMPANIES IN AFGHANISTAN

This study looked into the elements that influence distributor satisfaction with multilevel marketing (MLM) companies in Afghanistan. Five factors were investigated: method to diffuse business opportunity, perceptions of products and services, perceived quality of training program, perceived quality of recruiting process, and up-line support. After collecting data with the use of survey questionnaires and analyzing these data using SPSS the result of multiple regression indicated the following outcomes: the first three parameters (Method to diffuse business opportunity, Perceptions of products and services, Perceived quality of training program) had a considerable impact on distributor satisfaction, according to the results of the multiple regression analysis. The other two factors which are Perceived quality of recruitment process and Up-line support had no significant relationship with distributors’ satisfaction.

#workfromhome: how multi-level marketers enact and subvert federal language policy for profit.

This paper analyzes how multi-level marketing companies (MLMs), via direct selling through electronic commerce (e-commerce) and social media, enact and evade federal language policy to maximize profits. Here we describe the federal language policies that govern this type of e-commerce, and in particular, the language policies of the Federal Trade Commission, which dictate what can and cannot be communicated by MLM companies and their contractors. We then illustrate how these federal language policies are enacted, and at times subverted, for financial gain during the COVID-19 economic and health crisis which rendered many people vulnerable. We draw on the discourse analysis of public documents, MLM insider sources via the first author, and over 100,000 public Instagram posts published by MLM independent contractors collected with the third-party Instagram data extraction tool, Phantombuster. We find that MLM independent contractors, although varying widely with respect to their enactment of federal and corporate policy, frequently reference COVID-19 implicitly or explicitly, a practice prohibited by federal policy. We demonstrate that quantitative and qualitative discourse analysis of language policies and practices of MLM social media provides a productive lens for understanding both the communication challenges of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This approach reveals the variable ways in which language policies are taken up and discourses recontextualized with new meanings and for new purposes across social media platforms.

Examining the Challenges and Opportunities of Multi-Level Marketing for Resort Hotels: A Delphi Study

Environmental changes push hotels to seek additional and innovative channels to market their products/services while maintaining a high occupancy rate and revenues with lower marketing costs. Building on network theory, this research investigates the extent to which multi-level marketing (MLM) can be adopted as an appropriate and innovative marketing channel for resort hotels. A Delphi study was undertaken with hotel and MLM experts to explore their perceptions about the opportunities and challenges of MLM for resort hotels. The results showed that MLM could appropriately be developed as an innovative marketing channel for resort hotels if challenges are fully addressed and controlled by hoteliers. Two models are proposed for proper implementation of MLM for resort hotels. The first model uses current customer/s as a marketer/s. This includes sharing resort experience using social media posts. The second model uses MLM companies as a channel for marketing hotel products/services to new customers. Several theoretical and practical implications of the study were discussed.

VERTICAL COMMUNICATION ON ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AND SKILLS: A STUDY OF EMPLOYEE'S PERSPECTIVE FROM A MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING COMPANY IN BANDUNG, INDONESIA

This study explores the communication aspect further, namely vertical communication related to achievement motivation and skills of employees who work in multi-level marketing companies. The researcher used the SEM PLS analysis technique to determine the effect of vertical communication on achievement motivation and its implications for improving employee skills. The research data use employees who work in multi-level marketing companies in the city of Bandung as many as 53 employees. The study results indicate that there is a significant effect of vertical communication on achievement motivation and has implications for increasing employee skills by 0.177 and 0.610. Furthermore, the study results indicate that more effective vertical communication can increase employee achievement motivation, which can improve employee skills in completing the tasks and responsibilities that the company has given.