Legal Constraints and Marketing Research: Review and Call to Action

Marketing researchers operate in an environment which is ripe for legislation. Researcher-respondent privacy issues, unfair and deceptive practices among researchers, and the continual problem of “sugging,” or the impersonation of legitimate interviewers by sales agents, demand attention. The authors attempt to make marketing researchers more cognizant of current legislation and the potential implications of the Magnuson-Moss/Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act. Professionals in marketing research are called upon to respond in a positive and productive fashion to the public policy issues in their operating environment.