MKTG90049 · Marketing, Society and Sustainability
Critical Issues in Digital and Technology Marketing
Week 11 examines the societal implications of digital and technology-driven marketing: emerging technologies (IoT, AI, blockchain, quantum), the relationship-to-technology typology, embeddedness and the digital self, and privacy — the privacy paradox and Communication Privacy Management (boundary coordination vs turbulence).
In assessment this powers questions on the ethics of data-driven marketing: define the privacy paradox or the CPM boundaries and recommend how a marketer should handle consumer data, and it connects the digital lens back to Better Marketing for a Better World.
What this chapter covers
- 01New technologies in marketing (Hoffman et al. 2022): new interactions, new data/methods, innovations, new frameworks — and the caution about harm/bias
- 02Four emerging technologies: IoT, AI, blockchain, quantum — definitions and marketing relevance
- 03Relationship-to-technology typology: Techtopians, Green/Neo-Luddites, Work Machine, Techspressives (not unitary)
- 04Embeddedness: the digital self, technology in lived experience, institutional values propagated through tech
- 05Privacy (Westin 1967) as control over personal information; the 'right to be left alone'
- 06The privacy paradox: wanting privacy and access/benefits simultaneously
- 07Communication Privacy Management: boundary coordination (fair exchange) vs boundary turbulence (violation)
Short answer: the privacy paradox and CPM applied to a personalised-retail app
- +4Define the privacy paradox (about 4 marks). Consumers simultaneously want privacy and want the access and benefits (personalisation, discounts) that come from sharing data, and they behave in ways that contradict their stated privacy concerns. As embeddedness rises, more data is shared and privacy concerns and ethical expectations grow.
- +4Introduce CPM boundaries (about 4 marks). Explain boundary coordination — a fair exchange where the consumer provides information and the company provides genuine value and respects their boundaries — versus boundary turbulence, where boundaries are violated (data sold, used without consent, unwanted contact by third parties).
- +6Three recommendations (about 6 marks, ~2 each). (1) Transparent, plain-language consent and cookie/data policies so consumers know what is shared; (2) value-for-data reciprocity — offer real benefit and let users control and withdraw data (coordination, not turbulence); (3) do not sell or over-share data to third parties, and honour information boundaries to keep trust. Each maps to a CPM idea.
- +1Close (about 1 mark). One line: privacy handled well is a trust asset; connect to Better Marketing for a Better World (win-win). Keep to ~300 words.
Key terms
- Embeddedness
- Three ways digital technology integrates into life: aspects of ourselves become part of digital networks (the digital self), technologies embed into our lived experiences, and institutional values are propagated through the technologies organisations create. Rising embeddedness gives marketers more channels and data but raises responsibilisation and privacy stakes.
- Relationship-to-technology typology
- Four moral ideologies of technology consumption: Techtopians (tech as social progress), Green/Neo-Luddites (tech as destruction of the natural), Work Machine (tech as economic engine) and Techspressives (tech as pleasure). A person is not unitary — they can hold several at once.
- Privacy (Westin 1967)
- One's right to manage and control personal information in the process of communication — also framed as the 'right to be left alone'. The foundation for analysing data-driven marketing's ethics.
- The privacy paradox
- Consumers simultaneously hold a desire for privacy and a desire for the access and benefits that come from sharing data, and behave in ways that contradict their stated privacy concerns. Concern and ethical expectations rise as embeddedness increases.
- Communication Privacy Management (CPM)
- A framework of information boundaries. Boundary coordination is a fair exchange (the consumer shares data; the company provides value and respects boundaries); boundary turbulence is a violation (data sold or used without consent, unwanted third-party contact).
- Emerging technologies (IoT, AI, blockchain, quantum)
- Four technologies reshaping marketing: the Internet of Things (interconnected devices generating behavioural data), Artificial Intelligence (pattern recognition, prediction, content generation), blockchain (secure distributed ledgers for transparency and provenance) and quantum computing (solving very complex problems). Each brings both marketing value and ethical risk.
Critical Issues in Digital and Technology Marketing FAQ
What is the privacy paradox?
The privacy paradox is that consumers say they value their privacy yet routinely share personal data in exchange for access and benefits — personalisation, convenience, discounts — behaving in ways that contradict their stated concerns. The subject links it to embeddedness: the more integrated digital technology becomes in our lives, the more data we share, and the higher our concern and our ethical expectations of companies rise. For a marketer the lesson is not to stop collecting data but to manage the exchange fairly.
What is the difference between boundary coordination and boundary turbulence?
They are the two states in Communication Privacy Management. Boundary coordination is a fair, respectful information exchange: the consumer provides data and the company gives real value in return and respects the agreed boundaries. Boundary turbulence is when those boundaries are violated — the company sells the data, other companies use it without consent, or the consumer is contacted unwantedly. Good data-marketing recommendations keep the exchange in coordination and avoid turbulence, which is what preserves trust.
How does Week 11 connect to the rest of the subject?
It applies the subject's ethics and responsibilisation lenses to digital marketing. The privacy paradox and CPM are ethical questions about how firms should treat consumer data; the relationship-to-technology typology and embeddedness show how technology reshapes consumption and can shift responsibility onto individuals; and you can evaluate any digital practice back through Better Marketing for a Better World (does it benefit both firm and world, or is it win-lose?). So it is less a standalone topic than a digital test of the whole semester's frameworks.
Can AI help me with Week 11 of MKTG90049?
Yes, as a study aid. Sia can define the privacy paradox and the CPM boundaries for you, help you structure a data-ethics answer, and check that each recommendation avoids boundary turbulence. Give it a scenario and ask it to walk through the structure step by step. It does not write your graded answer, and University of Melbourne academic-integrity rules apply.
Exam move
Week 11 rewards precise definitions, so nail them. Memorise the privacy paradox, the CPM coordination-vs-turbulence distinction, Westin's definition of privacy, the relationship-to-technology typology and the three forms of embeddedness. Practise the exam move: define the privacy paradox, explain CPM, then give three data-handling recommendations each mapped to coordination-not-turbulence, and close by linking good privacy practice to trust and the Better Marketing for a Better World win-win. Treat this week as a digital application of the whole semester's ethics and responsibilisation ideas rather than an isolated topic. Rotate scenarios (a retail app, a wearable, a loyalty program) so the framework transfers. When CPM feels abstract, ask Sia for a concrete scenario and check your recommendations; it teaches the method and never does your graded work. Confirm assessment details on Canvas.
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