The dark side of marketing: introduction to the special issue

In stark contrast to traditional depictions of customers and organisational actors as functional and good natured entities, the past decade has witnessed a surge in research that explores the dark side of marketing. Unwanted, undesirable and often illegitimate facets of exchange have been explored and the emergence of savvy market actors has been documented (Brady, Voorhees, & Brusco, 2012; Fisk et al., 2010; Fullerton & Punj, 2004). Although our instinct might be to ignore, conceal or diminish deviant behaviour, our growing understanding of such behaviours provides important insights into the evolving realities of marketing. Despite considerable developments in our understanding of the definitions (Daunt & Greer, 2015; Mitchell & Chan, 2002), forms (Moschis & Cox, 1989; Phau, Teah, & Lwin, 2014), antecedents (Harris & Ogbonna, 2006; Yagil & Luria, 2014) and consequences (Baranik et al., 2017; Van Jaarsveld, Walker, & Skarlicki, 2011) of dark side dynamics, however, much of this collective work is disjointed. Thus, significant research gaps still remain.

This special issue aims to more deeply develop our conceptual and empirical understanding of dark side dynamics in marketing and consolidate a number of issues inherent to this field. In doing so, this special issue furthers the Journal of Marketing Management’s rich history of publishing works that advance and strengthen this field (e.g. Abdelhadi, Foster, & Whysall, 2014; Gregory-Smith, Smith, & Winklhofer, 2013; Leo & Russell-Bennett, 2012; Parker, Roper, & Medway, 2015; Wallace & De Chernatony, 2007).

Reflective of the literature, the papers published in this special issue demonstrate the complexities, contradictions and consequences of deviant behaviours perpetrated by both consumers and organisational actors. Thematically, the six papers and three commentaries confirm the growing prevalence of deviant behaviours across every facet of consumers’ and organisations’ interactions. The papers question traditional conceptualisations of deviant behaviours that no longer fit well across the diverse settings and contexts comprising the fabric of modern marketing activity. Interestingly, the papers also highlight a number of counterintuitive findings. They demonstrate collectively that organisations and consumers can both gain and lose as a consequence of dark behaviours, and that these parties themselves can be the masters of their own misfortunes. Importantly, the papers consider reasonable means by which organisations could prevent or mitigate deviant behaviour and its outcomes, which affect a range of macro and micro entities.

The six papers and three commentaries discuss the breadth of deviant behaviours and accordingly adopt diverse theoretical underpinnings and methodological approaches to explain these phenomena. The first paper, titled ‘Schadenfreude and product failures: the role of product deservingness and product status’, authored by Pancer, McShane and Poole, investigates the dark experience of schadenfreude, which is taking pleasure in the suffering of other customers in the context of product failures. Underpinned by equity theory, the authors forward three hypotheses that propose dynamics between schadenfreude, product status, deservingness and envy. The findings reveal a complex and interesting picture which shows that a lack of perceived product deservingness increases schadenfreude via both envy and deservingness. The observer’s own deservingness and lack of product status are also shown to intensify schadenfreude via envy. Building on these findings, the authors forward suggestions that can be adopted to manage schadenfreude in practice. These suggestions highlight the importance of fostering a consumer’s sense of deservingness and implementing market signalling strategies to mitigate this dark attitude.

The paper titled ‘When ambush marketing is beneficial to sponsorship awareness: creating sponsor distinctiveness using exclusivity and brand juxtaposition’, authored by Weeks, O’Connor and Martin, focuses on a controversial form of marketing, ambush marketing, where brands associate themselves with major events without having paid for the right to do so. Such activities are viewed as deviant by official sponsoring firms and frequently result in undesirable retortive efforts by sponsors to regain their privilege. To address this discord, the authors recommend that sponsors move beyond restrictive efforts and instead strategically use and benefit from the ambushers presence. Derived from experimental data, the authors’ findings suggest that sponsors should communicate sponsor exclusivity in the presence of ambushers and that employing traditional restrictions on ambusher activity might be detrimental to consumers’ awareness and perceived distinctiveness of the sponsor. Further, the authors reveal the value for sponsors who employ juxtaposing communications to aid consumers to distinguish between the official sponsor and the ambusher.

The third paper, titled ‘Beating, ditching & hiding: consumers’ everyday resistance to marketing’, authored by Heath, Cluley and O’Malley, makes use of critical incident technique during personal interviews to reveal the numerous ways that consumers resist marketing via their regular behaviour. In demonstrating that consumer resistance can embody mundane, conventional and everyday behaviours, the authors make a distinct contribution to the field. Moving beyond a binary view of structure and power, the authors offer three alterative views of power and resistance: hegemonic, relational and autonomous. The authors’ findings illustrate consumers’ savviness to and repellence of the efforts of marketers, and the narratives provide marketers with sobering insights into consumers’ attempts to reclaim agency, rebut or simply ignore marketing.

The fourth paper, titled ‘The dark side of consumer life in the age of virtual and mobile technology’, authored by Zolfagharian and Yazdanparast, considers how the victim and perpetrator of deviant consumption habits and dependencies can be difficult to separate in the sphere of digital technologies. The findings from a qualitative research method demonstrate eight facets of technology-based deviant consumer behaviour that cause harm to the individual user, fellow consumers or wider society. These themes are intriguingly labelled: (i) overabundance, over lingering visibility; (ii) at best, trust the intention, not the ability behind perceived guarantees; (iii) targeted destruction; (iv) presence divided, tasks collided; (v) compulsion: benign and fatal consequences; (vi) digital intimacy as frame of reference; (vii) slants of authenticity: calculation, monitoring and competition; and (viii) cerebral and physical: new frontiers of outsourcing. The authors conclude that the unprecedented abundance of information, together with frequent infringements of privacy rules and legislation, have made it challenging for consumers to engage with and trust digital providers and content.

The fifth paper, titled ‘Don’t feed the trolling: rethinking how online trolling is being defined and combated’, authored by Golf-Papez and Veer, advances our conceptual understanding of online trolling behaviours. Highlighting the distinctiveness of trolling from other dark forms of behaviour, an integrative definition of trolling behaviour is presented. Compellingly, the authors demonstrate that trolling behaviour can lead to positive as well as negative outcomes for firms and consumers. The authors further contribute to theory and practice via conceptualising the manifestation of trolling behaviour. Underpinned by routine activity theory (Cohen & Felson, 1979), it is argued that a motivated offender, target and absence of capable guardian converge to create a context that is conducive to trolling behaviour. Encompassed within these mechanisms, the authors theorise the emergence six individual trolling behaviours: aggress, (hypo) criticise, digress, antipathise, endanger and shock. Using the tenets of routine activity theory, implications such as the introduction and enforcement of sanctions, improving potential targets digital literacy and fostering the moral consciousness of trolls are discussed.

The sixth paper, titled ‘Deterring deviant consumer behaviour: when “it’s wrong, don’t do it” doesn’t work’, authored by Dootson, Lings, Beatson and Johnston, argues that current managerial tactics utilised to deter consumer misbehaviour (typically drawing on perceived risk or punishment) are based on flawed assumptions. In response, the authors employ two studies and demonstrate that significant differences exist between consumers’ subjective perceptions of behaviour wrongness and objective classification of such behaviour. Empirical evidence is also forwarded to show that perceived risk and punishment do not individually predict deviance consumer behaviour. Alternatively, the authors detail findings which depict how the alternative mechanisms of perceived prevalence, moral identity, and perceived outcomes influence the enactment of consumer deviance. The study thus rejects the traditional deterrent approach and contributes to knowledge via the development and assessment of unconventional means of deterrence.

Following the full papers, we are delighted to present three commentaries authored by leaders in the field of research on the dark side of marketing. The first commentary paper, authored by Moschis, titled ‘Research frontiers on the dark side of consumer behaviour: the case of materialism and compulsive buying’, argues that issues pertaining to theory, method, research design and analytic method have hampered the development of research in the field of materialism and compulsive behaviour. To remedy these shortcomings, the author champions the adoption of the life course paradigm in the study of maladaptive behaviours. This multi-theoretical holistic approach extends across substantive and theoretical boundaries of social and behavioural science and typically focuses on four categories of variables: events or experienced change at a specific point in time, adaptation processes, outcomes at a later point in time and contextual factors. Underpinning these processes are three perspectives: stress, normative (socialisation), and human capital. Based on these assertions, the author recommends the adoption of an event historical analysis method, which enables the collection and analysis of longitudinal data, and fleshes out a number of fruitful avenues for future research.

The second commentary, titled ‘Consumer intentions to falsify personal information online: unethical or justifiable?, authored by Punj, addresses the growing problem of consumer misrepresentation of personal information, which the author notes has grown in prevalence online owing to consumers’ reactions to firm’s unethical activities, opportunism, and pre-emptive concealment of wrongdoings. Following a detailed literature review, the author demonstrates how three theoretical approaches can be used to examine consumers’ decisions to falsify personal information online. The utilitarian perspective advocates assuming a cost–benefit approach to information falsification. Under the normative perspective, consumers rationalise and justify ethically questionable acts, while a philosophy of rights perspective argues that consumers may provide firms with distorted personal information as a means with which to protect their basic rights. In accordance with these perspectives and the latest literature, the author forwards four propositions suitable for empirical assessment.

The third commentary, authored by Yagil, titled ‘There is no dark side of customer aggression – it’s all dark’, raises a number of interesting questions. Focusing on a common and interpersonal form of misbehaviour, the author utilises the I3 Model and research on the universality of customer aggression to develop a model of aggressive behaviour. Specifically, the author suggests that customer aggression arises from a combination of three orthogonal processes: instigation, impellance and inhibition. Instigation confronts the seeming disconnect between customer expectations and the ability of firms and their employees to deliver such service. Impellance notes the driving affects that situational and personal factors can have on inciting aggressive behaviour in circumstances wherein the individual encounters the instigator. Inhibition refers to the inflammatory or mitigating impact that situational or personal factors can have in increasing or reducing the likelihood of aggressive behaviour. In conclusion, the author warns of the perceived normativeness and legitimacy of customer aggression during exchange. To remedy this issue, the author points to the role of legislation to foster more equitable interactions between customers and employees.

While the research and commentaries presented in this special issue deepen our conceptual and empirical understanding of the dark side of marketing, the field of research still presents exciting opportunities for researchers. Significant future contributions to the field are likely to take a theoretically unifying approach, and link the deviant behaviours of multiple actors to develop a more useful understanding of dysfunctional behaviour within exchange. Managing and mitigating such behaviour is likely to be an ongoing challenge, and so investigations into alternate strategies will meaningfully progress the field. Finally, the nature of constructive deviance could be explored more deeply to understand the dysfunctional mechanisms by which marketing actors achieve their consumption goals. In summary, we look forward to the next iteration of research in the field.

Disclosure statement

In circumstances where paper submissions were received from colleagues in the same academic institution as that of one of the editors, the blind peer-review process was overseen by the second editor.