This Master Thesis presents findings with regard to the stated discrepancy by means of a literature analysis and qualitative research in the form of focus groups. The research objective is to investigate customers’ and marketing professionals’ attitudes towards the discipline and how knowledge and/or experiences contribute to a positive or negative perception of marketing. The results suggest that customers are aware of the tactics used by marketers to deliberately mislead their target groups. Consequently, customers develop negative attitudes towards persuasive marketing efforts.
This thesis highlights the gap between laypersons’ negative perception and marketing academics’ added-value perception towards the discipline. In order to overcome this discrepancy, marketers need to consider customers’ scepticism as a compass and address positive impacts of marketing on customers and society.
Customers have gradually started emphasising on emerging marketing practices that seem to harm individuals, societies and the environment. However, marketing scholars believe that marketing has positive impacts and creates values and satisfaction for all stakeholders.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Background Situation and Research Problem
1.2 Research Objectives and Research Questions
1.3 Scope and Limitations
1.4 Research Methodology and Justification
1.5 Structure of the Thesis
2 Theoretical Exploration of current Perceptions of Marketing
2.1 Perception and Knowledge in Research
2.1.1 Perception and Knowledge
2.1.2 Persuasion Knowledge Model
2.2 Public Criticism about Marketing
2.2.1 Scepticism towards Advertising
2.2.2 Manipulative Marketing Practices
2.2.3 Deceptive Pricing Policies
2.2.4 Consumption-Oriented Lifestyles
2.2.5 Scepticism towards Green Advertising
2.3 Marketers’ Responses to Public Scepticism
2.3.1 Academic Understanding of Marketing
2.3.2 Demarketing and Mindful Consumption
2.3.3 Reforming Pricing Strategies
2.3.4 Sustainable Marketing Practices
3 Empirical Research
3.1 Research Objectives
3.2 Research Methodology
3.2.1 Focus Group Composition
3.2.1.1 Sampling Technique
3.2.1.2 Recruiting of Participants
3.2.2 Data Collection
3.2.2.1 Interview Guideline
3.2.2.2 Focus Group Execution
4 Analysis and Interpretation of Collected Data
4.1 Data Analysis Method
4.2 Presentation and Interpretation of Findings
4.2.1 General attitudes towards Marketing
4.2.1.1 Advantages and positive perceptions
4.2.1.2 Resentments and negative perceptions
4.2.1.3 Functional versus social understanding of Marketing
4.2.2 Marketing as Manipulation
4.2.2.1 Dimensions of Manipulation
4.2.2.2 Objectives of Manipulation
4.2.2.3 Receptive target groups
4.2.3 Consumption-oriented life-styles
4.2.3.1 Meaning of Consumption
4.2.3.2 Marketing as driver of Consumption
4.2.3.3 Consequences of over-consumption
4.2.4 Pricing Policies
4.2.4.1 Social versus personal (un)fairness
4.2.4.2 Pricing strategies and objectives
4.2.5 Sustainability and Greenwashing
4.2.5.1 Purchasing motives
4.2.5.2 Marketing and Sustainability
4.2.5.3 Marketing and Greenwashing
5 Final Discussion
5.1 Summary
5.2 Limitations
5.3 Implications and Recommendations
5.4 Future Research
Objectives and Core Topics
This master thesis investigates the discrepancy between the marketing discipline’s perceived added value and public criticism. The research explores how customers’ and professionals’ knowledge and experiences influence their attitudes and perceptions of marketing, specifically focusing on manipulative tactics, consumerism, and pricing.
- Examination of customer attitudes towards marketing and advertising.
- Analysis of persuasion knowledge and its impact on consumer scepticism.
- Investigation of marketing-related criticism, including manipulation and deceptive practices.
- Comparison of academic marketing concepts with laypersons' perceptions.
- Exploration of sustainability and greenwashing from a consumer perspective.
Excerpt from the book
2.1.2 Persuasion Knowledge Model
According to Friestad and Wright (1994) who conceptualized the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM), persuasion knowledge can be defined as customers’ knowledge of and expertise in marketing. They add that this knowledge includes the goals, strategies, and tactics of marketers, as well as production and consumption processes. This kind of knowledge can arise and grow through education, personal experiences, or socializing (Tan & Tan, 2007). Thus, persuasion knowledge may influence customers’ attitudes towards and their understanding of marketing. The model proposes that customers “persuasion coping knowledge enables them to recognize, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and remember persuasion attempts and to select and execute coping tactics believed to be effective and appropriate” (Friestad & Wright, 1994, p. 3).
In this context, customers’ perceptions of persuasion tactics used by agents (e.g. sales persons) to influence them are essential as these are the initial processes for encountering persuasive situations. The perceptions significantly shape customers’ responses towards persuasion attempts. By using their persuasion knowledge, customers decide whether to agree to or resist the persuasive situation (Friestad & Wright, 1994; Taylor & Nelson, 2012).
Persuasion knowledge serves as a significant knowledge domain in consumers' daily behaviour and prompts customers to be aware of situations where an external agent attempts to affect their decisions, attitudes, thoughts or emotions, (Friestad and Wright, 1999). With regard to the perception of marketing, persuasion knowledge reflects both customers’ knowledge about how marketers seek to persuade customers as well as how these strategies evoke and control psychological changes (Hibbert et al., 2007).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides the background and research problem, defining the core research question regarding how knowledge about marketing influences customer perception.
2 Theoretical Exploration of current Perceptions of Marketing: Establishes the theoretical framework, specifically using the Persuasion Knowledge Model to explain how public criticism and various marketing practices shape consumer attitudes.
3 Empirical Research: Describes the methodology for the qualitative focus group research, including participant selection and the interview structure used to gather data.
4 Analysis and Interpretation of Collected Data: Details the systematic analysis of focus group data, categorizing findings on marketing perceptions, manipulation, consumerism, and sustainability.
5 Final Discussion: Synthesizes the theoretical and empirical findings to answer the research questions, offering implications for future marketing practice and research.
Keywords
Marketing criticism, customer attitudes, positive marketing, persuasion knowledge, consumerism, sustainability, greenwashing, pricing policies, manipulation, market ethics, consumer behaviour, brand perception.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this master thesis?
The thesis examines the attitudes of customers and marketing professionals toward marketing and explores how individual knowledge and experience influence these perceptions.
What are the central thematic areas covered?
The core themes include public criticism of marketing, manipulative marketing techniques, pricing strategies, consumerism, and perceptions regarding sustainability and greenwashing.
What is the primary research objective?
The primary goal is to identify how, if at all, knowledge about marketing influences customers' perceptions of the discipline and what consequences this has for consumption behaviour.
Which scientific method is utilized?
The author uses a qualitative research approach, specifically conducting two focus groups to gather in-depth data, which are subsequently evaluated using Mayring’s qualitative content analysis.
What topics are discussed in the main part?
The main sections cover theoretical perception models (PKM), public criticism (manipulation, deceptive pricing, lifestyle impacts), and marketer responses (academic perspectives, sustainable practices).
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Key terms include marketing criticism, persuasion knowledge, consumer attitudes, greenwashing, and manipulative marketing practices.
How does the author define persuasion knowledge in this context?
Drawing on the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM), it is defined as a consumer's knowledge and expertise regarding the goals, strategies, and tactics used by marketers to influence them.
What role does 'greenwashing' play in the study?
Greenwashing is identified as a significant point of consumer scepticism, where companies are perceived as using misleading environmental claims to gain profit rather than achieving genuine sustainability.
- Citation du texte
- M.A. Undine Handorf (Auteur), 2016, Reflection on customers’ knowledge and perceptions about marketing, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/383158
