GDPR guidelines for academic research in marketing

The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has changed the level of rigour with which academics need to approach designing and executing research involving the collection of personal data. While the required care resembles that which is required by an Institutional Review Board, the particular areas on which researchers need to focus differ, and this is partly due to the nature of the data used when investigating how consumers interact with the marketing environment. In this chapter, the authors draw on their expertise in academic and commercial marketing research to propose a seven-step approach to designing GDPR-compliant research and provide an overview of the procedural and documentation requirements. The role of the institutional Data Protection Officer and how this person can assist in the process is reviewed, and examples of good practices are offered.