Ouverture de ‘Marketing Research and Global Markets’

Global markets express a new vision of market research and of marketing research, consistent with the information needs of complex organisations (generally network-based) working with several decision-making points (characterised by high-level delegations and responsibilities) and with very brief action-reaction times. Marketing research and market research represent two distinct information support domains for corporate management, with well-defined theoretical and practical limits. Market research concerns, on the one hand, uncontrollable environmental phenomena (such as demographic and social composition and trends). On the other, it regards influenceable environmental phenomena (e.g. overall product consumption trends, degree of competition, distribution channels, etc.). On the contrary, marketing research tends to develop when increased competition obliges a company to perform analysis of market opportunities and threats. In general terms, marketing research can be defined as the systematic collection and analysis of relevant quantitative and qualitative data and information for a specific marketing situation that a company must face for product, price, place and promotion

Adapting Ethnography: An Example of Emerging Relationships, Building Trust, and Exploring Complex Consumer Landscapes

Purpose In this paper, we provide a practical example of how ethnographic insight is obtained in the field. In so doing, we demonstrate multiple ways in which ethnographic approaches can be adapted during on-going research processes to develop rich and multiple emic/etic perspectives. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based upon the first author’s reflective experience of undertaking ethnographic field work. The discussion draws from a multi-method, longitudinal and adaptive ethnographic research design, which aimed to capture the process of new family identity formation in Sri Lanka. Originality/value Existing research gives us excellent insight into various methods used in contemporary ethnographic research and the kinds of insight generated by these methods. With few exceptions, these studies do not give significant insight into the specifics of the ethnographic research process and the adaption practice. Thus, we provide a practical example of how ethnographic insight is obtained in the research field. Discussion/findings Our discussion elaborates the ways in which we integrated multiple research methods such as participant observations, semi-structured in-depth interviews, informal sessions, Facebook interactions, adaptations of performative exercises and elicitation methods to overcome complexities in cultural, mundane and personal consumption meanings. We also discuss how closer friendships with informants emerged as a consequence of the ethnographic research adaption practice and how this influenced trust and confidence in researcher-informant relationship, presenting us with a privileged access to their everyday and personal lives