EXPRESS: Navigating Data Access for Digital Platform Research in International Marketing

Digital platforms have transformed global markets and opened new avenues for international marketing research. Yet, empirical access to platform data remains challenging, particularly in cross-country research where data governance, usage conditions, and data quality vary considerably across actors and regions. This paper first reviews current international marketing research on digital platforms to identify major research domains and data sources employed in prior work. It then provides a structured overview of four key data source types: platform-provided data, participant-provided data, third-party-provided data, and synthetic data. For each type, the paper describes its core characteristics, outlines potential applications in international marketing research, and discusses advantages and limitations. Finally, it links each research domain to the most suitable data sources, identifies blind spots relative to the broader platform literature, and delineates emerging research questions. In doing so, this paper supports researchers in navigating data access opportunities and constraints to advance empirical research on digital platforms in international marketing.