Marketing Research, 11th Edition

CHAPTER 2The Marketing Intelligence Universe and Research Ethics

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Appreciate the structure of the intelligence universe.
2. Comprehend the nature of corporate marketing research departments.
3. Understand the types of marketing research suppliers.
4. Examine how corporations use marketing research.
5. Review the current state of the marketing research industry.
6. Appraise ethical trends and unethical practices among marketing research suppliers, clients, and marketing research field services.

The marketing research industry has undergone tremendous change in recent years. Where is the industry going and who are the key players? What is the role of each player? Ethics is one of the most important topics taught in the field of business. What are the ethical issues in marketing research? What are several key approaches to ethical decision making? We discuss each of these issues in this chapter.

Rapidly Changing Structure of the Marketing Research Industry

Today, over $44 billion a year is spent on marketing/advertising/public opinion research services around the world.¹ The 50 largest marketing research firms in the United States account for about 25 percent of this total.² An examination of the 25 largest marketing research firms in the world finds 14 have the United States as their corporate home country, followed by 5 in the United Kingdom, 3 in Japan, 2 in France, and ...