Neuromarketing reluctance : A quantitative study of Swedish communications professional’s attitude towards neuromarketing as innovation

This study investigates the extent to which Swedish communications professionals are prepared to use neuromarketing as a market research method. Neuromarketing applies technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging to study the brain's responses to marketing stimuli and is considered capable of obtaining ‘hidden information’ stored in individuals' brains, which traditional market research methods cannot provide. Despite these comparative advantages, the method is relatively unknown in Sweden today. This study seeks to answer two research questions: 1) What attitudes do communications professionals have towards neuromarketing? 2) Are the necessary preconditions for communications professionals to use neuromarketing satisfied? The study uses a quantitative approach and collected data from active communications professionals in Sweden through a survey. The theoretical framework is based on the six essential criteria presented by Greenhalgh et al. (2008) that need to be met in order for an innovation to be implemented. The survey had a low number of respondents and the result is therefore a broad generalization. The result shows that the communications professionals have extensive experience and consider themselves to have significant strategic influence, which is important for developing and managing the organization's brand. On the other hand, respondents had low awareness of neuromarketing and mainly a negative attitude towards it. None of the six criteria (Greenhalgh, et al., 2008) were met. The result suggests that Swedish communications professionals are not ready to accept and adopt neuromarketing and that the conditions for incorporating the method in their work are lacking today