If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract Despite the widely varying estimates about the strength of the global Internet economy, there is general agreement among experts about the dramatic influence of this medium on consumers as well businesses. However, one area that has generated conflicting views is the issue of Internet privacy. As businesses develop more sophisticated technologies to collect, store and disseminate information on consumers, privacy and security of this information are raising concerns among consumers and public policy advocates. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that consumers in some European countries view privacy protection as a very important issue. Investigates consumer attitudes in the Federal Republic of Germany. The findings indicate that consumers in Germany have very strong views about protecting their privacy. They believe that both companies and governments are obligated to protect the information of their consumers and citizens. To this end, German consumers are willing to support stricter legislation. Results also suggest that German consumers' views about Internet use and on-line behaviors, are affected, among other things, by their views regarding privacy in general, their personal expertise in Internet technologies, and how they view the role of the government and the role of companies in protecting consumer privacy.

This article identifies the curiosity in marketing thinking and offers ways to teach for marketing thinking through an environment that fosters students' curiosity. The significance of curiosity in its relationship with thinking is that when curiosity is absent, so is thinking. Challenges are discussed in recognizing the fragility of curiosity through an understanding of the factors that suppress it. Drawing on existing research in education, psychology, and marketing, a synthesized pedagogical reversal is suggested-instead of pursuing learning in the form of students' acquisition of knowledge, the focus should be on students' exploration and appropriation of knowledge and marketing knowledge through their curiosity and thinking. The pedagogical differences are discussed in terms of expectations, measures of success, and what students leave with upon completion.

The neuroscientific literature reveals that the brain changes over time, and the type of change (plasticity) that results is not random. While the brain exhibits certain evolutionary prejudices, individual plasticity and the kind of thinking enabled can be shaped by, and can shape, organizational priorities and operations. Organizational focus on structure and procedural efficiency is shown to foster fixed thinking, while cultivation of “practiced varying” skills encourages thinking agility. Agile thinking is shown to be essential for the development of organizational plasticity, the foundation for organizational agility. Finally, suggestions for incorporating variability in the workplace are offered.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explain and discuss a paradoxical tension in the practice of marketing and the consequent dilemmas posed for practitioners in general and planners in particular. Design/methodology/approach -A "Viewpoint" contribution, with implicit permission to "think aloud." Informed opinion and logical argument are in this case founded on but not exclusively derived from the existing research-based marketing literature, plus selected transfer of principles from other disciplines. Findings -The paradox is that, by concentrating on the contribution of accepted theory and principles to practice, in fact intellectual and conceptual progress might be hindered. A way out of this dilemma is to shift the focus from marketing-as-content (doing) to marketing-as-questioning (thinking). A new working definition emphasizes the value of this focus and the benefits of equal participation in the process by both academics and practitioners. Practical implications -A route map is offered for productive collaboration across the much-discussed academic-practitioner gap, which should lead to mitigation of the constraining (hindering) effect of the conventional wisdom and the way it is applied to strategy. Originality/value -The paper presents a point of view, to stimulate lateral thinking and alternative positions. It shifts the focus from "what" to "how" and "why" and exhorts academics and practitioners to move in the same direction together.