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Is Neuromarketing Ethical? Consumers Say Yes. Consumers Say No

2014; Allied Business Academies; Volume: 17; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

1544-0044

Jason Flores, Arne Baruca, Robert Saldivar,

Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations

ABSTRACTAdvancements in the development of neuroscience have created the capacity for neuroscientific methods to be applied to marketing science and ultimately marketing practice. As a relatively nascent subfield in marketing, neuromarketing applies neuroscientific methods to study consumer reactions to specific marketing related stimuli. This study analyzes the use of neuromarketing by for-profit and non-profit organizations from an ethical perspective based on consumers' point of view. The implications of consumers ' ethical judgments are also explored. The empirical evidence indicates that consumers perceive the use of neuromarketing-based marketing tactics by for-profit organizations to be unethical, yet the same tactics are considered ethical when non-profit organizations use this tool. The implications of these ethical judgments show the most favorable consumer responses for non-profit organizations that do use neuromarketing based marketing practices and, interestingly, the most unfavorable response for non-profits that forego the use of such practices. Managerial implications are also discussed.INTRODUCTIONNeuromarketing is a technology based and nascent field of marketing research aimed at observing consumers' reaction to stimuli. Measuring consumers' reaction to stimuli is a common practice and, according to Wang and Minor (2008), these measures include: (1) behavioral measures, (2) verbal measures, and (3) psychophysiological measures. Neuromarketing differs from these traditional methods of measuring reactions to stimuli because it requires the application of neuroscientific based methods for the purpose of analyzing behavior in relation to markets and marketing exchanges (Lee, Broderick, and Chamberlain, 2007). Thus, neuroscience allows marketing researchers to observe uncontrollable brain function responses that result in specific physiological responses when individuals are exposed to specific stimuli. Neuroscientific methods include fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), SST (Steady State Topography), EEG (Electroencephalography), Eye Tracking, and Galvanic Skin Response (Randall 2009). Examples of companies that use neuromarketing include: Microsoft, Yahoo, Hyundai, and others listed in Table 1.Ethical concerns are considered one of the three most important aspects related to neuromarketing among marketing academics, neurologists, and marketing professionals (Eser, Isin, and Tolon, 2011). Among the ethical critiques of neuromarketing is the concern that neuromarketing will allow an unprecedented level of manipulation by companies through their marketing activities (McDowell and Dick, 2013). This critique is based on the idea that consumers may be unjustly influenced through the use of specific stimuli that lead to specific physiological responses which can be uncovered only through neuromarketing based research.Though Lindstrom (in Sullivan, 2009) posits that neuromarketing research can reveal only what is occurring in the brain, but cannot explain why it occurs, and Graham (2012) argues that the potential of neuromarketing effectiveness is limited because are not zombies when we shop, mindlessly and unknowingly putting brands in our baskets and stumbling to the checkout in a fog (p. 288), these positions do not negate the possibility that behavior manipulation may be possible in ways previously thought not plausible.Consumers may not be as enthusiastic about neuromarketing as companies who use neuromarketing and their agreeableness may vary depending on consumers' understanding of how and why companies use neuromarketing. Consumers may feel manipulated and consequently may have a negative reaction towards the company using this technique. This plausible reaction appears to be similar to the one that subliminal advertising provoked after James Vicary proposed it to be effective in the 1950's (Sutherland, 2004). However, according to Synodions (1988) the controversy over whether subliminal stimulation is effective remains and is now joined by a new controversy created by neuromarketing. …