News by Subject Policy & Ethics

A firm's focus on customers may be diminished when it lobbies. Firm focus can be reoriented to customers, but doing so requires intentional, marketing-focused efforts.

Data privacy is an important topic in the digitalised economy. Recent policy changes have aimed to strengthen users' control over their own data. Yet new research from Copenhagen Business School finds designers of cookie banners can affect users' privacy choices by manipulating the choice architecture and with simple changes can increase absolute consent by 17%.

An associate professor of marketing at The University of Texas at Arlington says digital avatars can replace a sales force and customer service employees at a fraction of the cost.

Despite legislation to prevent the marketing of tobacco products to children, tobacco companies have shrewdly adapted their advertising tactics to circumvent the ban and maintain their access to this impressionable--and growing--market share.

Unagi kabayaki -- grilled freshwater eel in soy sauce -- can be found in many Japanese restaurants, Asian shops and supermarkets. But new research tracing the DNA of eel fillets used for this dish has found that fraudulent food labelling is rife, with a third of the products violating EU regulations on the provision of food information. With certain species of eels now endangered, the researchers say that accurate labelling on these products is vital if the global eel trade is to be sustainable.

In a study publishing in the journal Heliyon on June 23, researchers combined data from 22 studies to conclude that in general, people are willing to pay $1.36 more for a pound of coffee that's produced in an eco-friendly way and are especially partial to coffee that's labelled "Organic."

For decades, governments and health authorities have tried to steer people away from "vice" products such as tobacco through counter-marketing measures such as tax increases, but according to a new study from the UBC Sauder School of Business, they can help people quit -- but how much they help, and who pays the price, varies significantly.

Study of almost 3 million Facebook and Twitter posts from US media and politicians finds posts about the "outgroup" get double the shares. Each word referencing an opposing political figure or idea - typically to attack or deride - is linked to an average share boost of 67% for the post. Researchers say the study highlights "perverse incentives" driving social media systems that reward animosity.

The fast-food industry spent $5 billion on advertising in 2019, and the advertisements disproportionately targeted Black and Hispanic youth, according to new research published today by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. The new report, Fast Food FACTS 2021, finds that the industry's annual ad spending in 2019 increased by over $400 million since 2012, and that children and teens were viewing on average more than two fast food TV ads per day.

Customer loyalty programs have been around for decades and are used to help businesses, marketers and sellers build a sustainable relationship with their customers. But do they work? A recent study sought to find out and researchers learned that while yes, customer loyalty programs do work, perhaps not in ways most may assume.