MSI CALL FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS ON
SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Submission Deadline: March 10, 2014
The Marketing Science Institute (MSI) is pleased to announce a research proposal competition
to foster novel research on the broad topic of social interactions and social media marketing.
We have allocated $150,000 to help fund 10-20 research grants. Competitive submissions
should propose high quality research on critical questions in this area that are relevant to both
academics and marketing practitioners. This is open to all research methodologies, and we
especially encourage proposals for research that plans to use multiple methods (e.g., behavioral
experiments combined with empirical modeling of actual consumer or market data) to advance
knowledge in this area.
Proposals must be received by Monday, March 10, 2014. Funding decisions will be announced
in June.
BACKGROUND
Social interactions take place between marketing actors all the time, and can take on many
different forms. For example, consumers exchange information with each other regularly
through word-of-mouth communication, online reviews and ratings, and social media posts (to
name just a few). Social interactions between customers, clients, and partners also occur
regularly in business-to-business settings. Although the topic of social interactions has been
studied for decades in marketing, the ubiquity of social media and, critically, the widespread use
of social media, present new opportunities (and challenges) for marketers. Thus, new research
questions have arisen that warrant rigorous examination.
RESEARCH PRIORITIES AND SUGGESTED TOPICS
We encourage researchers to submit proposals related to one (or more) of the seven research
priorities listed below. These priorities were developed by a committee of leading researchers
(behavioral and quantitative) and representatives from some MSI member companies.
Proposals must be relevant to the broad topic of social interactions and social media marketing,
and demonstrate the potential to make a substantive and theoretical contribution to the field of
marketing.
1. The consumer journey in a social media world. Traditional models of the consumer
journey or decision processes (e.g., the “marketing funnel” or hierarchy of effects
models) may not apply in a social media context. Research is needed to characterize the
consumer journey when social interactions and social media engagement are potential
sources of influence. How do consumers process, act on, and distribute brand/product
information obtained through social channels at different points in their journey? Such
work may provide valuable insights into the dynamic evolution of consumer social