If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of the study is to investigate the use of social media as a new investigative tool in marketing research. Design/methodology/approach -The paper's approach is an analysis of the existing social marketing literature and industry practice in marketing analysis. Findings -The market research profession has been affected by developments in social media. First, some of the traditional research methods suffer from changes in consumer communication patterns. As social media supplant communication methods such as telephony and even email, researchers have diminished capacity to reach consumer subjects. As a result, the social media have spawned a number of research techniques that overcome the problems that have started to affect the old techniques.Research limitations/implications -The article reviews the state of market research and its efforts to remain effective. The major new social media based market research techniques are described as well as their strengths and weaknesses. One limitation of the study is the focus on published research techniques. The study does not address proprietary techniques that may be used in practice. Practical implications -Social media have reduced the effectiveness of traditional market research techniques. Marketers can overcome that effect by employing some of the social media related techniques that have become available. Originality/value -To date, few, if any, academic studies have been done that assess the impact of social media on the use of market research techniques. The study draws conclusions that may aid practitioners in maintaining successful marketing research techniques.Arguably one of the most important sources of information about the state of market research is the Market Research Association. Its website clarifies its role as a professional association. It provides a training element that is geared to keeping the standards of excellence in the opinion and market research industry. The training is geared to the professional basis of market research and related business skills. Like most trade associations, it lobbies government on behalf of the industry. One of its valuable services is measuring the pulse of the...

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework, based in entrepreneurship theory, which explains how marketing emerges in startups founded by members of the Millennial generation. Design/methodology/approach-Following a literature review, from which propositions are derived, an earlier process model of organizational speciation is adapted to marketing by Millennial entrepreneurs. Findings-A four-stage cycle model of entrepreneurial marketing by Millennials is developed, consisting of enabling through resource scarcity, bonding through social media, new product introduction through incremental stealth, and replicating through variation, selection, and retention. Research limitations/implications-Model development would be enhanced through empirical data. Practical implications-Marketers in entrepreneurial firms founded by Millennials can follow a few simple rules to enhance market penetration. Resource scarcity is something to be sought, not avoided. A thoughtful social media strategy can accelerate new product introduction: stealthiness and its close relation small size should be embraced; avoid getting too big too quickly; use furtiveness to drive social media-based bonding. Originality/value-Previous theoretical models at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface have not focused on the unique characteristics of Millennial-led new ventures. This study develops the most comprehensive model of entrepreneurial marketing by Millennials to date.

Purpose – The authors apply Alan P. Fiske's relational models framework to customers' engagement with service firms – specifically, they propose that customers who hold different relational models for the service firm are likely to engage with the firm in dissimilar ways, thus generating different types of customer engagement value for the firm. Fiske's relational models framework is eminently suitable for studying customer-service firm engagement because it is widely adopted in the social sciences as a rigorously developed framework for conceptualizing social interactions. Design/methodology/approach – The article bridges Fiske's relational models framework and Kumar et al.'s customer engagement value framework, and conceptually demonstrates that customers employing different relational models for the service firm are likely to generate different types of customer engagement value for the firm. Findings – The article demonstrates conceptually that customers' relational models, schemata, and scripts influence how consumers engage with the firm and the type of customer engagement value accruing to the firm. Research limitations/implications – This research has implications for service firms' relationship strategies. First, service marketers can determine the desired customer engagement value(s) and then craft their customer relationship strategy so that it maximizes those engagement value(s). The article suggests relationship strategies that service firms may implement for encouraging customers to adopt different relational models. Originality/value – No research has bridged relational models theories and customer engagement value theories.

Purpose-This research aims to examine the effects of varying front-of-package (FOP) nutrition information type on parents' food product choices for children. Design/methodology/approach-A 3(FOP nutrition information: nutrient specific system vs food group information system vs summary indicator system) £ 3(Perceived healthiness of the product: high vs moderate vs low) mixed-design experiment and content analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings-Findings suggest that summary indicator systems were effective in positively impacting parents' choices for healthier food options, however not as effective as food group information systems-which includes specific nutrient content claims complementing less familiar health nutrient symbols. Originality/value-Implications for marketers, consumer welfare advocates and product brand managers are provided.

The use of dietary supplements in the United States has escalated in the past decade, driven by the public's desire to exert control over their health and by the mistaken belief that the safety of dietary supplements is assured by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In fact, the marketing of largely unregulated supplements presents significant risks to public health.