Dark Side of Marketing: Some Quick Thoughts

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Dark Side of MarketingSome Quick Thoughts

• Richard Staelin
• Duke University
• 2006 Doctoral Consortium

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Our Field is Built on Mentoring

• Preliminary Task
• Name the school from which each one of us
  graduated
• Name our Ph.D. thesis chairman
• Get all 4 schools and all 4 thesis advisors
  
• 50

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Analytic Modeling

• Not stating critical assumptions
• Selectively omitting relevant references
• Using motivating examples that dont support
  model
• Finding a perfect solution to a non-relevant
  (non-realistic) problem

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Empirical Modeling

• Selective censoring of data
• Conduct multiple (very many) analyses and then
  only presenting the few that prove your theory
• Emphasizing statistical significance versus
  effect significance
• Technical sophistication trumps parsimony
• Beating a dead horse versus the gold standard
• Selective use of test statistics (marginal
  significance, etc.)

5
Behavioral

• Messing with data
• Fabrication
• Sequential sampling
• Run X studies report only a subset
• Not disclosing contexts in which study results
  dont hold
• Changing hypotheses after seeing data

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Broader Issues

• Emphasis on depth vs. breath
• Asking authors to cite your papers