Online Behavioral Advertising: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

Advertisers are increasingly monitoring people's online behavior and using the information collected to show people individually targeted advertisements. This phenomenon is called online behavioral advertising (OBA). Although advertisers can benefit from OBA, the practice also raises concerns about privacy. Therefore, OBA has received much attention from advertisers, consumers, policymakers, and scholars. Despite this attention, there is neither a strong definition of OBA nor a clear accumulation of empirical findings. This article defines OBA and provides an overview of the empirical findings by developing a framework that identifies and integrates all factors that can explain consumer responses toward OBA. The framework suggests that the outcomes of OBA are dependent on advertiser-controlled factors (e.g., the level of personalization) and consumer-controlled factors (e.g., knowledge and perceptions about OBA and individual characteristics). The article also overviews the theoretical positioning of OBA by placing the theories that are used to explain consumers’ responses to OBA in our framework. Finally, we develop a research agenda and discuss implications for policymakers and advertisers.     

BRAND ACTIVISM: A Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

Brand activism is a new and fragmented phenomenon that has been attracting growing attention from scholars. Research on this topic is still at an exploratory stage and in need of advancement and conceptualization. The aim of this study is to systematize the extant literature on brand activism by attempting an in-depth exploration of the antecedents that identify the construct along with the influencing and consequence factors that will need to be tested and validated by future research. This study adopts the guidelines provided by the SPAR-4-SLR protocol and considers 76 papers with no time limitation. To the best of our knowledge, this seems to be the first scientific systematization of brand activism. From the in-depth analysis of the extant literature, two conceptual frameworks were constructed that can guide both researchers, in their understanding and investigation of the phenomenon, and practitioners in their implementation strategies of brand activism. The no time restriction of the analysis has allowed an investigation of the phenomenon from its prodromes until recent years, also highlighting important gaps that will have to be filled by future research.     

Ethics of AI-Enabled Recruiting and Selection: A Review and Research Agenda

Journal of Business Ethics - Companies increasingly deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in their personnel recruiting and selection process to streamline it, making it faster and more...     

The Ethics of the Living Wage: A Review and Research Agenda

To date, business ethicists, corporate social responsibility scholars as well as management theorists have been slow to provide a comprehensive and critical scrutiny of the Living Wage concept. The aim of this article, therefore, is to conceptualize the living wage (LW) in its philosophical as well as practical dimensions in order to open up the ethical implications of its introduction and implementation by companies. We set out the legal, socio-institutional and economic contexts for the debates around the LW and review arguments for, and against, it. Key philosophical arguments from the perspectives of sustainability, capability and externality are invoked and discussed in order to demonstrate the issues and challenges involved for companies, state and civil society actors. Relevant examples from the private sector are examined to demonstrate some of the practical issues involved when the LW is introduced by employers. The article also recommends avenues for a research agenda into the LW for business ethicists, CSR and management researchers in contexts such as the UK, where a voluntary, rather than mandatory, approach to the implementation of the LW is adopted.     

Entrepreneurship and Ethics: A Literature Review

During the past twenty years, there has been an explosion of new interest in entrepreneurs and their activities. Yet only recently has serious research attention been devoted to the ethical problems encountered by entrepreneurs and their organizations. Entrepreneurs face uniquely complex moral problems related to basic fairness, personnel and customer relationships, distribution dilemmas, and other challenges. This essay surveys contemporary research in entrepreneurial ethics, examines the kinds of ethical dilemmas entrepreneurs confront, identifies major research topics and methodological approaches, and discusses possible directions for future research.     

Character and Virtue Ethics in International Marketing: An Agenda for Managers, Researchers and Educators

This article examines the applicability of character and virtue ethics to international marketing. The historical background of this field, dimensions of virtue ethics and its relationship to other ethical theories are explained. Five core virtues – integrity, fairness, trust, respect and empathy – are suggested as especially relevant for marketing in a multicultural and multinational context. Implications are drawn for marketing scholars, practitioners and educators.     

The 'Value Of Marketing' and 'The Marketing Of Value' in Contemporary Times –A Literature Review and Research Agenda

Over the last quarter of a century, it has become increasingly apparent that the traditionally accepted production based view of the value adding process is no longer realistic. Awareness of the value created through the provision of services and the increasing importance of services in the economic and business environment suggests that value can also be created through the consumption process. For marketers to use the value adding potential of consumption to fulfil the marketing concept, the nature of the process and the value created by it need to be investigated. This paper provides an overview of the changing business environment and its implications for our understanding of the concept of value. It examines the increasing interest in the literature in the concept of experiential value and highlights the problems caused by its very personal, idiosyncratic and situational nature; and, suggests a conceptual model around which research into the topic can be organised. Finally, it suggests a methodology for carrying out research that would provide some insight into the factors that cause consumers' perceptions of experiential value to vary so much.     

The International Marketing Literature

ABSTRACT

This study examines the international marketing literature published during the period 1987-1993. Twenty journals, which publish international marketing articles on a variety of topics, were reviewed, yielding 1,645 articles with an international marketing perspective. Classification of the articles on the basis of subject content yielded twenty-four distinct topic categories. Topical trends and frequent contributors in the international marketing literature are identified and implications for future research are discussed.     

Innovation and Employment Effects in Services: A Review of the Literature and an Agenda for Research

This article addresses the difficult question of the relationship between innovation and employment. Its main objective is to re-examine the literature on innovation in services in the light of the employment issue. In particular, it attempts to assess to what extent and in what way this question is implicitly or explicitly addressed in the literature or deserves to be introduced into it. In pursuit of these objectives, the national and international literature is reviewed and a research agenda proposed. The following three topics are explored in succession: 1) technologist approaches and the employment question; 2) the question of employment in service-based approaches; 3) innovation by services and employment.     

International Marketing Ethics from an Islamic Perspective: A Value-Maximization Approach

International marketing practices, embedded in a strong ethical doctrine, can play a vital role in raising the standards of business conduct worldwide, while in no way compromising the quality of services or products offered to customers, or surrendering the profit margins of businesses. Adherence to such ethical practices can help to elevate the standards of behavior and thus of living, of traders and consumers alike. Against this background, this paper endeavors to identify the salient features of the Islamic framework of International Marketing Ethics. In particular, it highlights the capabilities and strengths of this framework in creating and sustaining a strong ethical international marketing culture. At the heart of Islamic marketing is the principle of value-maximization based on equity and justice (constituting just dealing and fair play) for the wider welfare of the society. Selected key international marketing issues are examined from an Islamic perspective which, it is argued, if adhered to, can help to create a value-loaded global ethical marketing framework for MNCs in general, and establish harmony and meaningful cooperation between international marketers and Muslim target markets in particular.     

Cross-Sector Partnerships for Systemic Change: Systematized Literature Review and Agenda for Further Research

The literature on cross-sector partnerships has increasingly focused attention on broader systemic or system-level change. However, research to date has been partial and fragmented, and the very idea of systemic change remains conceptually underdeveloped. In this article, we seek to better understand what is meant by systemic change in the context of cross-sector partnerships and use this as a basis to discuss the contributions to the Thematic Symposium. We present evidence from a broad, multidisciplinary systematized review of the extant literature, develop an original definition of systemic change, and offer a framework for understanding the interactions between actors, partnerships, systemic change, and issues. We conclude with some suggestions for future research that we believe will enhance the literature in its next phase of development.     

FOCUS: Research in Business Ethics* Business Ethics Research: Shaping the Agenda

“The most significant outcome of effective business ethics research would be an improvement of ethical standards and ethical behaviour in organizations”. So how can such research be made effective? The author is Lecturer in Management Studies, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.     

Ethical Analyses of HRM: A Review and Research Agenda

The very idea of human resource management raises ethical considerations: What does it mean to us as humans for human beings to be managed as resources? Intriguingly, the field of ethics and HRM remains underdeveloped. Current approaches to HRM fail to place ethical considerations as their central warrant. This article, building on Greenwood (J Bus Ethics 36(3):261–279, 2002), argues for a deeper analysis of ethical issues in HRM, indeed for a differentiated ethical perspective of HRM that sets normative deliberations as its prime task. By identifying a distinct ethical approach to HRM that is unashamedly normative and socio-politically embedded, two objectives can be achieved. First, mainstream and critical approaches will be challenged to take ethical issues in HRM more seriously. Second, a dedicated forward-looking research agenda for the ethical analysis of HRM will be advanced.     

Sexuality and Ethics in Advertising: A Research Agenda and Policy Guideline Perspective

Abstract

Sexuality in advertising is a major area of ethical concern, though surprisingly little is known about its effects or the norms for its use. The author suggests a framing perspective on these two issues that consists of (1) a research agenda concerning the alleged effects and morality of sexual appeals (i.e., teleological vs. deontological considerations) and (2) a set of ethics-based, policy guidelines for addressing these issues (i.e., choice enhancement vs. consumer protection). Applying this framing perspective, the author provides a basis for making ethical choices about the use of sexual appeals in advertising.     

知识基础论与营销能力:一个理论述评

营销能力是战略营销理论研究中的一个重要方面。营销学者们提出了基于知识的营销能力概念,分析了市场驱动型组织的市场感知能力和顾客联系能力,提出了营销能力层级模型,并通过实证研究,认为营销能力对企业的绩效具有显著影响作用,这为进一步的研究奠定了基础。     

A Text Mining-Based Review of Cause-Related Marketing Literature

Social networking sites (SNS) have challenged ethical issues about users’ information security and privacy. SNS users are concerned about their privacy and need to control the information they share and its use. This paper examines the security of SNS by taking a look at the influence of users’ perceived control of information over their information-sharing behaviors. Employing an empirical study, this paper demonstrates the importance of perceived control in SNS users’ information-sharing behaviors. Specifically, perceived control has been found to be negatively related to perceived privacy risk and attitude toward information sharing, which in turn has an impact on their information-sharing behaviors. In addition, gender has been shown to be an important factor that moderates the influences of both perceived control and perceived privacy risk on SNS users’ attitudes toward information sharing. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

市场营销演进及营销管理变革综述

通过对国际300余篇权威学术文献的研究,根据企业、产品、客户三者内在逻辑关系的理论分析,透视和阐述了市场营销及营销管理随社会需求发展而演进的规律和21世纪变革的趋势,将市场营销和营销管理的演变过程概括为大众营销、目标营销和定制营销三个时代,同时总结和阐述了各时代营销管理的基本特征。     

Hospital Positioning and Integrated Hospital Marketing Communications: State-of-the-Art Review,Conceptual Framework,and Research Agenda

In the light of patient empowerment and channel fragmentation, hospitals struggle to target patients in their new role as active, knowledgeable consumers. As market differentiation via traditional marketing mix variables such as price is hardly achievable in healthcare, superior communication grounded on sound positioning is a more promising lever for competitive advantage. Yet, research on marketing-driven communication from provider to patient lacks synthesis and critical reflection. Drawing upon evidence from previous research, this article unites 62 articles from medical and social sciences covering aspects of hospital marketing communications. Derived from qualitative content analysis, findings on the effectiveness of specific communication channels and contents are portrayed. This article further uncovers the characteristics of four evolving archetypes for hospital positioning and illustrates the implementation of integrated hospital marketing communication strategy. The elaborated conceptual framework can be used as a managerial tool for tailoring hospital communications. The article closes by highlighting future research directives.     

国际旅游服务贸易问题研究:文献述评

本文从国际旅游服务贸易发展的原因和基础、国际旅游服务贸易竞争力的测度、国际旅游服务贸易与经济增长、国际旅游服务贸易规模的预测模型和旅游服务贸易自由化对旅游服务贸易收益的影响等方面对已有研究进行了评述,以期为后续研究提供一些有益的借鉴。     

Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems: A Review and Research Agenda

Corporate sustainability performance measurement systems (SPMS) have been the subject of a growing amount of research. However, there are many challenges and opportunities associated with the design, implementation, use, and evolution of these systems that have yet to be addressed. The purpose of this article is to identify future directions for research in the design, implementation, use, and evolution of corporate SPMS. A concise review of key literature published between 2000 and 2010 is presented. The literature review focuses on research conducted at the both the individual corporation- and sector-levels. The review of published literature provides a basis for the identification of a structured set of 65 key research questions to guide future work. The research questions will be of interest to both practitioners and researchers in corporate sustainability performance measurement.