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Advertising and Knowledge Intermediaries: Managing the Ethical Challenges of Intangibles

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Abstract

In today's business environment, the knowledge-based society, globalisation, and information and communication technologies (ICT) have increased the role of "intangible" values of assets and resources for all industries. As a result there is an increased role for knowledge intermediaries; one of these, advertising, plays an important role in affecting consumer choice and knowledge. Ethical issues which arise for traditional purveyors of intangibility – cultural industries such as art, music, or film, spread to advertising. Building on our perspective of the measurement of intangibles we propose a new categorisation of types of goods or services, and a framework for identifying some future ethical challenges in today's global knowledge based society.

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Millar, C.C.J.M., Choi, C.J. Advertising and Knowledge Intermediaries: Managing the Ethical Challenges of Intangibles. Journal of Business Ethics 48, 267–277 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000005788.90079.5d

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