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COLLEGIUM HUMANUM
WARSAW MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY
Doctor of Business Administration
DISSERTATION
Markus Zametter
2022/23
Effective Digital Marketing in
an Age of Privacy Concerns
and Data Protection
Regulations
Markus Zametter
2022/23
Warsaw-Zurich
Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationship between digital marketing
and data privacy concerns and regulations, and how digital marketing measures can be
effective in an environment where such concerns and regulations are prominent. For this, the
study attempts to answer three main research questions: 1) How are privacy regulations, such
as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, affecting businesses’ digital
marketing efforts overall? 2) How are individuals’ privacy concerns impacting digital
marketing? 3) What are the main factors that contribute to effective digital marketing in an
age of data protection regulations and privacy concerns?
This dissertation combines different research methodologies in order to research those
questions. In particular, the study utilizes the survey methodology to gather insights from four
different questionnaires, targeted at different groups of participants: Separate surveys will be
performed for digital marketing professionals, data protection/privacy experts, businesses that
perform digital marketing activities, and individual consumers and Internet users. In addition
to this quantitative research, two expert interviews are held with industry experts from the
fields of digital marketing and data protection respectively, for qualitative research.
Combined with this primary research, the dissertation also reflects on and discusses findings
of different secondary sources that have investigated similar research questions, including two
case studies. The author also considers his own professional opinion from 14 years of working
in the field, and shares whether this experience confirms or denies the results from the other
sources.
In a final part, the findings of all primary and secondary research are compared and
synthesized, in order to provide the most reliable answers to the aforementioned research
questions, and also offer industry recommendations for effective digital marketing for our age
of privacy concerns and data protection regulations.
Keywords: GDPR, digital marketing, privacy, data protection
JMJ
Dedication
I dedicate this work, and all of my work, to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acknowledgements
Even though it would be impossible to name all of the individuals who supported me during
the time I wrote this dissertation, I want to take this opportunity to mention at least a few of
them here:
Most importantly, I thank God for giving me the ability to conduct this research and to write
this dissertation.
I also want to thank my family and friends for their continued support throughout my life.
Furthermore, I would like to thank both Alfred Nobel Open Business School Zürich,
Collegium Human Warsaw Management University, and everyone associated with them, for
offering this great course, for providing me with the opportunity to pursue this degree, for all
of the interesting lecturs I was allowed to attend, and all of the staff for their assistance. In
particular, I want to thank Marta, who was my consultant for this dissertation, because it was
always a pleasure working with her.
Last but certainly not least, I want to thank everyone who directly contributed to this
dissertation, especially the two interviewees, but also everyone who participated in a survey,
and every researcher from all of the secondary sources I’ve cited.
Thank you.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 1
List of Figures 3
List of Tables 5
Glossary: Acronyms, Abbreviations, Specific Terms 7
1. Introduction 8
1.2 Personal Motivation 10
1.3 Industry Motivation 11
1.4 Research Objectives 13
1.5 Methodology and Sources 13
1.5.1 Surveys in Detail 14
1.5.2 Survey Representativeness 18
1.5.3 Additional Notes for Evaluating Survey Results 23
1.5.4 Interviews in Detail 24
1.5.5 Additional (Secondary) Sources of Data 24
2. Theoretical Framework and State of the Art 25
2.1 About Data Protection and Related Fields 25
2.1.1 History of Data Protection Regulations 28
2.1.2 The GDPR and its History in Detail 32
2.2. About Digital Marketing and Related Fields 36
2.2.1 History of Digital Marketing 38
2.3 Summary of the Current Situation and Trends 44
3. Original Research - Empirical Analysis 47
3.1 Survey Results for Digital Marketing Professionals 48
3.2 Survey Results for Data Protection Experts 58
3.3 Survey Results for Business Owners 69
3.4 Survey Results for Individual Internet Users 82
3.5 Analysis and Synthesis of Survey Results 96
3.5.1 Relating Individual Survey Results with Research Objectives 96
3.5.2 Correlating Survey Questions 104
3.6 Interview with a Data Protection Expert 111
1
3.6.1 Key Findings of the Data Protection Expert Interview 127
3.7 Interview with a Digital Marketing Expert 127
3.7.1 Key Findings of the Digital Marketing Expert Interview 142
3.8 Cross-Examination of the Expert Interviews in Light of the Research Objectives 143
3.9 Summary of All Primary Research Results in Light of the Research Objectives 146
4. Theoretical Work - Secondary Sources and Literature 149
4.1 Case Study on LinkedIn 149
4.2 Case Study on Facebook 152
4.3 Summary and Key Findings of Both Case Studies 160
4.4 Additional Secondary Sources, Literature Review 162
4.4.1 Impact of Data Protection Regulations 162
4.4.2 Impact of Privacy Concerns 166
4.4.3 Major Factors for Effective Digital Marketing 169
4.6 Results from All Secondary Sources in Light of the Research Objectives 172
5. Conclusions and Recommendations 176
5.1 Research Question 1 Answered: Data Protection Regulations’ Effects 176
5.2 Research Question 2 Answered: Privacy Concerns’ Effects 178
5.3 Research Question 3 Answered: Effective Digital Marketing 179
5.4 Discussing Additional Findings 181
5.5 Recommendations Based on the Results 183
5.6 Future Works and Closing Thoughts 187
References 189
Appendix 210
Full Export of Survey 1 Results 210
Full Export of Survey 2 Results 221
Full Export of Survey 3 Results 230
Full Export of Survey 4 Results 242
2
List of Figures
Figure 1: Sample size calculation for business owners
20
Figure 2: Sample size calculation method
20
Figure 3: Sample size calculation for digital marketing experts
21
Figure 4: Sample size calculation for data protection experts
22
Figure 5: Sample size calculation for Internet users
22
Figure 6: All 4 surveys listed in the online survey tool’s dashboard
47
Figure 7: Survey 1 participants and runtime
48
Figure 8: Survey 1 question statistics
48
Figure 9: Question 1 of Survey 1
49
Figure 10: Question 2 of Survey 1
49
Figure 11: Question 3 of Survey 1
50
Figure 12: Question 4 of Survey 1
51
Figure 13: Question 5 of Survey 1
51
Figure 14: Question 6 of Survey 1
52
Figure 15: Question 7 of Survey 1
53
Figure 16: Question 8 of Survey 1
54
Figure 17: Question 9 of Survey 2
54
Figure 18: Question 10 of Survey 1
55
Figure 19: Question 11 of Survey 1
56
Figure 20: Question 12 of Survey 1
57
Figure 21A: Question 13 of Survey 1
58
Figure 21B: Survey 2 participants and runtime
59
Figure 22: Survey 2 question statistics
59
Figure 23: Question 1 of Survey 2
59
Figure 24: Question 2 of Survey 2
60
Figure 25: Question 3 of Survey 2
61
3
Figure 26: Question 4 of Survey 2
62
Figure 27: Question 5 of Survey 2
63
Figure 28: Question 6 of Survey 2
64
Figure 29: Question 7 of Survey 2
65
Figure 30: Question 8 of Survey 2
66
Figure 31: Question 9 of Survey 2
67
Figure 32: Question 10 of Survey 2
68
Figure 33: Survey 3 participants and runtime
69
Figure 34: Survey 3 question statistics
69
Figure 35: Question 1 of Survey 3
70
Figure 36: Question 2 of Survey 3
70
Figure 37: Question 3 of Survey 3
71
Figure 38: Question 4 of Survey 3
72
Figure 39: Question 5 of Survey 3
73
Figure 40: Question 6 of Survey 3
74
Figure 41: Question 7 of Survey 3
75
Figure 42: Question 8 of Survey 3
76
Figure 43: Question 9 of Survey 3
77
Figure 44: Question 10 of Survey 3
78
Figure 45: Question 11 of Survey 3
79
Figure 46: Question 12 of Survey 3
80
Figure 47: Question 13 of Survey 3
81
Figure 48: Question 14 of Survey 3
82
Figure 49: Survey 4 participants and runtime
83
Figure 50: Survey 4 question statistics
83
Figure 51: Question 1 of Survey 4
84
Figure 52: Question 2 of Survey 4
85
4
Figure 53: Question 3 of Survey 4
85
Figure 54: Question 4 of Survey 4
86
Figure 55: Question 5 of Survey 4
87
Figure 56: Question 6 of Survey 4
88
Figure 57: Question 7 of Survey 4
89
Figure 58: Question 8 of Survey 4
90
Figure 59: Question 9 of Survey 4
91
Figure 60: Question 10 of Survey 4
91
Figure 61: Question 11 of Survey 4
92
Figure 62: Question 12 of Survey 4
93
Figure 63: Question 13 of Survey 4
94
Figure 64: Question 14 of Survey 4
95
Figure 65: Question 14 of Survey 4
95
Figure 66: Meta stock prices, all time
157
Figure 67: Meta stock prices in the last year, with Nov. 4 highlighted
158
Figure 68: Annual revenue and net income of Meta
159
Figure 69: Quarterly revenue and net income of Meta
159
List of Tables
Table 1: Timeline on the history of data protection and privacy regulations
28
Table 2: Timeline on the development of the General Data Protection
Regulation
33
Table 3: Outline of the GDPR’s contents, with personal comment to
summarize each chapter
35
Table 4: Timelines on the history of digital marketing
38
Table 5: Survey 1 (Digital Marketing Experts) related to Research Objectives
96
Table 6: Survey 2 (Data Protection Experts) related to Research Objectives
99
5
Table 7: Survey 3 (Business Owners) related to Research Objectives
100
Table 8: Survey 4 (Individual Internet Users) related to Research Objectives
102
Table 9: Survey correlations: What are the most popular digital marketing
measures currently used?
105
Table 10: Survey correlations: How are data protection regulations impact
digital marketing overall?
106
Table 11: Survey correlations: Did the GDPR cause significant changes to
digital marketing?
106
Table 12A: Survey correlations: Did digital marketing become more
difficult, due to data protection regulations?
107
Table 12B: Which types of organizations can realistically achieve …
107
Table 13: Survey correlations: How concerned are individuals about privacy
and data protection?
108
Table 14: Survey correlations: What are the main benefits and downsides of
data protection regulations, if any?
109
Table 15: Survey correlations: Are most digital marketing measures currently
in compliance with the GDPR?
110
Table 16: Survey correlations: What can we expect from the upcoming
ePrivacy Regulation?
110
Table 17: Survey correlations: Does the GDPR actually help to protect
personal data?
111
Table 18: Expert interviews related to Research Questions
143
Table 19: Summary of all primary research
146
Table 20: Summary of both case studies
160
Table 21: Summary of all secondary sources
172
Table 22: Findings from all sources regarding Research Question 1
176
Table 23: Findings from all sources regarding Research Question 2
178
Table 24: Findings from all sources regarding Research Question 3
180
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