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Research providers may occasionally conduct research that does not meet professional
standards. For example, a client may insist that a research firm use a particular methodology
even though the research firm feels the methodology will not answer the research question
posed by the client. Fearful of losing the business entirely, a firm may go along with their
client’s wishes. Or a research provider may agree to do a study even though the firm does not
have the expertise to conduct the kind of study needed by the client. In this case, the client
should be referred to another research provider.
Interviewers working for research firms may also engage in unethical behavior. A practice of
falsifying data known to many researchers and field interviewers is called curbstoning, or
rocking-chair interviewing. Curbstoning occurs when the researcher’s trained interviewers or
observers, rather than conducting interviews or observing respondents’ actions as directed in
the study, will complete the interviews themselves or make up “observed” respondents’
behaviors. Other data falsification practices include having friends and relatives fill out
surveys, not using the designated sample of respondents but rather anyone who is conveniently
available to complete the survey, or not following up on the established callback procedures
indicated in the research procedure. To minimize the likelihood of data falsification, research
companies typically randomly verify 10 to 15 percent of the interviews through callbacks.
C. Abuse of Respondents (PPT slides 1-21 to 1-22)
Following are the several potential ways to abuse respondents in marketing research.
• Research firms may not provide the promised incentive (contest awards, gifts, or money)
to respondents for completing interviews or questionnaires.
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Occasionally, it may be necessary to deceive consumers during a study. At the end of any study
involving deception, subjects must be “debriefed” and the deception must be explained.
Importantly, in no case can respondents be psychologically or physically harmed.
Market researchers should not invade customer privacy. While public behavior may be
audiotaped or videotaped without prior agreement, behavior in private, including during
research interviews, may not be taped without respondent consent. This issue is even more
complicated and controversial in online settings where consumer behavior is digitally tracked
(e.g., in clickstream analysis) and conversations about the company and its products are
collected and analyzed.
D. Unethical Activities of the Client/Research User (PPT slide 1-23)
Opportunities for unethical behavior also confront the client or decision maker who requires
research data. One such unethical behavior is decision makers requesting detailed research
proposals from several competing research providers with no intention of actually selecting a
firm to conduct the research. In this case, the “clients” solicit the proposals for the purpose of
learning how to conduct the necessary marketing research themselves. They obtain first drafts
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research information is promising a prospective research provider a long-term relationship or
additional projects in order to obtain a very low price on the initial research project. Then, after
the researcher completes the initial project, the client forgets about the long-term promises.
Clients may also be tempted to overstate results of a marketing research project.
E. Unethical Activities by the Respondent (PPT slide 1-23)
The primary unethical practice of respondents or subjects in any research endeavor is providing
dishonest answers or faking behavior. The general expectation in the research environment is
that when a subject has freely consented to participate, she or he will provide truthful responses.
F. Marketing Research Codes of Ethics (PPT slide 1-24)
Many marketing research companies have established internal company codes of ethics derived
from the ethical codes formulated by larger institutions that govern today’s marketing research
industry. The Code of Ethics for the American Marketing Association applies to all marketing
functions, including research, and can be viewed at www.marketingpower.com. ESOMAR, the
world organization for enabling better research into markets, consumers, and societies,
publishes a marketing research code of ethics on their website at www.esomar.org. The
Marketing Research Society summarizes the central principles in ESOMAR’s code as follows.
• Market researchers will conform to all relevant national and international laws.
• Market researchers will behave ethically and will not do anything that might damage the
reputation of market research.
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agreement to participate is being obtained and all such statements must be honored.
• The rights of respondents as private individuals will be respected by market researchers,
and they will not be harmed or disadvantaged as the result of cooperating in a market
research project.
V. Emerging Trends (PPT slide 1-25)
The general consensus in the marketing research industry is that the following five major trends
are becoming evident.
• Increased emphasis on secondary data collection methods
• Movement toward technology-related data management (optical scanning data, database
technology, customer relationship management)
Marketing Research in Action
Continuing Case: The Santa Fe Grill (PPT slide 1-26)
The Marketing Research in Action focus in this chapter is The Santa Fe Grill Mexican Restaurant,
the company which will be used throughout the book for discussion and exercises. This first entry
introduces the company. It was initially a part of a business plan concept for an entrepreneurship
Answers to Hands-On Exercises
1. Based on your understanding of Chapter 1, what kind of information about products,
services, and customers should the owners of Santa Fe Grill consider collecting?
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Students’ answer will differ. However, the owners of the Santa Fe Grill should consider
collecting the following set of information about their products, services, and customers:
• What selection criteria do members of their target market use to select a place to eat
out?
2. Is a research project actually needed? Is the best approach a survey of customers? Should
employees also be surveyed? Why or why not?
Yes, research can be very valuable for the Santa Fe Grill. The owners need to know what is
important to their customers and how well Santa Fe Grill is meeting those important needs.
If there are any gaps between important customer expectations and actual performance, they
need to make corrections.
Answers to Review Questions
1. What is the role of marketing research in organizations?
The American Marketing Association defines marketing research as the function that links
an organization to its market through the gathering of information. This information
facilitates the identification and definition of market-driven opportunities and problems, as
well as the development and evaluation of marketing actions. Finally, it enables the
monitoring of marketing performance and improved understanding of marketing as a
2. What improvements in retailing strategy might be attributed to the results obtained from
shopper marketing studies?
Shopper marketing is “understanding how one’s target consumers behave as shoppers, in
different channels and formats, and leveraging this intelligence to the benefit of all
stakeholders, defined as brands, consumers, retailers and shoppers.” Shopper marketing
3. Discuss the importance of segmentation research. How does it affect the development of
market planning for a particular company?
In segmentation research, marketing decisions involving all four Ps are more successful as
the target market demographics, attitudes, and lifestyles are clear to decision makers. A
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages for companies maintaining an internal marketing
research department? What advantages and disadvantages can be attributed to the hiring of
an external marketing research supplier?
The choice about whether to source your marketing research internally or externally is an
important one, and a decision each class participant is likely to face sometime in their lives,
whether they choose to specialize in marketing research as a career track or not. When
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5. As the marketing research industry expands, what skills will future executives need to
possess? How do these skills differ from those currently needed to function successfully in
the marketing research field?
The skill set which will serve marketing researchers is comprised of computer proficiency,
negotiating skills, foreign language skills, presentation skills, and the ability to understand
and interpret secondary data. While it can be argued that core skills such as communication,
the ability to work with others, and quantitative ‘smarts’ are shared between managers and
researchers, top-level executives will need to adapt to change, championing the move toward
6. Identify the three major groups of people involved in the marketing research process, and
then give an example of an unethical behavior sometimes practiced by each group.
The major sources of ethical issues in marketing research are the interactions among the
following three key groups:
• the research information providers
• the research information users
• the respondents
7. Sometimes respondents claim they are something they are not (e.g., a Toyota owner or a
married person) so they will be selected to participate in a focus group. Sometimes
respondents do not accurately reflect their personal income. Is it always unethical for a
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respondent to lie on a survey? Why or why not?
This question seeks to show students why some unethical behaviors are understandable and
Answers to Discussion Questions
1. EXPERIENCE MARKETING RESEARCH. Go online to one of your favorite search
engines (Yahoo!, Google, etc.) and enter the following search term: marketing research.
From the results, access a directory of marketing research firms. Select a particular firm and
comment on the types of marketing research studies it performs.
Using Google, enter “directory marketing research firms.” The first entry is for the
GreenBook, which is a print and online directory of research firms. The GreenBook enables
searches by company name or services. Students’ answers will vary depending upon the
2. EXPERIENCE MARKETING RESEARCH. Use Google to find a local marketing
research firm. E-mail that company and ask to have any job descriptions for positions in that
company e-mailed back to you. Once you obtain the descriptions, discuss the particular
qualities needed to perform each job.
3. You have been hired by McDonald’s to lead a mystery shopper team. The goal of your
research is to improve the service quality at the McDonald’s restaurant in your area. What
attributes of service quality will you attempt to measure? What customer or employee
behaviors will you closely monitor?
This is a keen prospect for class participants, since it’ll be rare if any member of the class is
unfamiliar with the McDonald’s brand, its products, and services. Attempt to establish what
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is essential at the outset of the exercise: the class participant has been hired by a client
(McDonald’s). Therefore, it’s imperative they not bring their personal preconceptions about
service quality and the behavior of employees and customers to bear on their leadership of
4. Contact a local business and interview the owner/manager about the types of marketing
research performed for that business. Determine whether the business has its own marketing
research department or if it hires an outside agency. Also, determine whether the company
takes a one-shot approach to particular problems or is systematic over a long period of time.
This discussion question has the potential to be something of a minefield unless you
establish some policies up front with class participants at the outset. Students must proceed
to complete this assignment with utmost professionalism. Keep in mind there are a number
of portals through which a student may contact a local business—email, cell phone,
telephone, letter, and/or cold call. It’s advisable if you, the instructor, have developed
contacts at local malls or shopping areas and call ahead before the course starts to get a
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4. EXPERIENCE MARKETING RESEARCH. As the Internet has grown as a medium for
conducting various types of marketing research studies, there is growing concern about
ethical issues. Identify and discuss three ethical issues pertinent to research conducted using
the Internet.