Action research has a very limited track record in marketing. We take an applied and practical approach and begin with a review of action research as a method, then turn to a more focused review of action research in marketing contexts, discussing the plausible constraints and advantages. Based on these reviews, we offer a conceptual framework and several application areas for marketing action research. We summarize case study examples from three market locations that have used action research as a method of inquiry to illustrate and encourage researchers and practitioners to further integrate action research in their research endeavors. We conclude with discussions on future research directions.
Dr. Sereikhuoch Eng is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Emerson College in Boston. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Economics from the University of Canberra, an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Rhode Island. She was a Fulbright Fellow and is an AMA Professional Certified Marketer. Her primary research interests involve individual/group behavior, response to new innovations, and resource management. Prior to academia, Dr. Eng managed portfolio of brands such as Nestle, Heineken, and Jaguar Land Rover. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: sereikhuoch_eng@emerson.edu.
Dr. Nikhilesh Dholakia is Professor Emeritus of Marketing, E-Commerce, and International Business at the University of Rhode Island and served as the Associate Director of its Research Institute for Telecommunications and Information Marketing (RITIM). Among his books are New Infotainment Technologies in the Home: Demand-Side Perspectives (Lawrence Erlbaum, 1996), Worldwide E-Commerce and Online Marketing: Watching the Evolution (Quorum, 2002), and M-Commerce: Global Experiences and Perspectives (Idea Group, 2006). His current research is focused on strategic and behavioral aspects of e-commerce and m-commerce. Dr. Dholakia has won the Charles Slater Award for the Journal of Macromarketing. He has also chaired doctoral dissertations that have won the MSI/Clayton and ACR/Sheth Foundation awards. He holds a B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi), an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad), and a Ph.D. from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: nik@uri.edu.
Eng, S.,
&
Dholakia, N.
(2019).
Action Research: A Review and Proposal for Application in Marketing Inquiry.
The Qualitative Report,
24(4), 754-763.
https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3553
