A Synthesis and Analysis of Behavioral and Policy Issues in Electronic Marketing Communications

Abstract

Marketers now use numerous electronic communication vehicles in which the collection and use of personal information can influence the development of relationships between firms and individual consumers. However, the level of acceptance of the collection and use of personal information varies among consumers, and many consumers are unaware of the details of this process. This chapter provides an interdisciplinary synthesis of recent research concerning emerging electronic marketing communications. An overview of relationship marketing is followed by an exploration of how different levels of marketing information acquisition and integration impactconsumer perceptions and behaviors. Then a discussion of recent legal and policy issues related to online privacy is followed by implications of electronic marketing communications and online privacy concerns on perceptions and subsequent customer relationships.