Introduction

Consistent with the proliferation of Internet technology in the last decade, corporations have been increasingly using and relying on Internet to make business decisions and to execute business activities online. Such a trend of business use of internet is becoming more prevalent in the past few years (Bao & Xiang, 2006). However, there are many new ethical dilemmas arises from business use of Internet. Using Internet to perform business research is one of the ethical dilemmas faced by managers today. In this paper, the ethical issues faced by a manager when conducting research on Internet will be discussed. The paper is separated into two parts. Part I will discuss the general ethical issues faced by manager when conducting business research through internet, while Part II will present a case study on such issues and several suggestions on how to act ethically when performing business research through internet in the future.

Part I

Business Research on Internet

Business use of the internet had and is creating various ethical dilemmas for researchers and practitioners nowadays. Some of the issues often raised in ethical discussion concerning business use of internet include unethical use of social media network for marketing purposes, software piracy, hacking, inappropriate exploitation of information from internet, and etc (Phukan, 2005). In this section, the focus will be placed on the ethical issues arises due to conducting business research on internet. Such a topic is relatively new and should never be neglected as it is becoming more frequent and reasonable for business to conduct research on internet.

Many issues concerning the use of internet for business research purposes. One of the most frequently cited issue is the issue of privacy. Such an issue occurs because internet is a medium that enable individuals to post and read texts without restrictions, and it is often treated as a vast public sphere (Berry, 2004). Although people understand that what they posted online can be viewed publicly, they may not want such information to be manipulated or being used in a way that may violate their privacy. Very often, people may even forget what they had posted online, as if that information about them are used, their privacy are infringed.

Apart from that, confidentiality issues are also big concerns for researchers online (Walther, 2002). In conducting research and the presentation of the research findings, it is important for the researchers to not to quote the name or the nickname of the subject under researched, without getting prior approval from the subject. Very often, people may not prefer their identity to be disclosed, even though the nick name they use may hardly be guessed correctly by others.

Moreover, there are also ethical issues to be solved if a particular researcher can ethically use the data derived from a specific online communities for his research purposes. Such an act is also called ‘lurking’. Obviously, the online communities are not set up for others to carry out research on its member. In fact, the members are expected to trust and respect each other, and yet to participate in the online communities for their personal reasons (Berry, 2004).

Besides, there are also arguments if conducting or gathering research online requires the researchers to obtain content from the internet users (Walther, 2002). Thus, it may be required for the researchers to obtain the consent from all of the subjects under researched, or purely from the owner or management of a particular forum or website.

There are also arguments that inappropriate research or reporting of research results may put the subject under researched on risk. Very often, even the particulars of the subjects under researched are not disclosed, the identities of the subjects are largely still discernable. In many cases, readers can guess the subject out from the interpretation of the research results (Capurro & Pingel, 2002; Walther, 2002). Such an issue is a serious one, as the ability of others to discern the identity of a subject will likely to place the subject under greater risks, and the privacy of the subject will be affected negatively.

Stockholder Views vs. Stakeholder Views

In business ethics, one of the early theories developed is the stockholders theory of ethics. Under such theory, manager is suppose to act in a manner to maximize shareholders’ wealth, while major of the social responsibilities are argued to be performed by government (Lawrence & Weber, 2008). From these perspectives, manager is supposed to conduct business research through internet, with the aim to maximize shareholders’ wealth. That could means that manager should utilize the information gathered from internet to the fullest, so that this information can be tabulated, analyzed and employed to be incorporated into the marketing financial and operation management of a firm. Issues, such as internet users’ privacy, confidentiality, ‘lurking’ and others can be ignored, as long as these issues are legally correct.

However, from another perspective, from the stakeholder views of business ethics, it is manager’s duties and responsibilities to consider the various stakeholders involve in the process of business research using internet. The stakeholders to be considered include the customers, employees, suppliers, internet users, government, shareholders, competitors as well as the general public (Lawrence & Weber, 2008). However, in the context of business research using internet, the key stakeholder to be considered are the internet users, in which their information are gathered and analyzed for the benefits and marketing intelligence of the firm. From such perspective, it is crucial to consider the privacy, confidentiality, interests, desires, intentions and preferences of the internet users. Thus, manager should take reasonable care, diligence and prudent actions in protecting the internet users’ privacy and interests so that they are not being harmed in the research process, while at the same time to provide sufficiently useful insights and critical information for the firm to grow profitably in the future.

Discussion of Different Models of CSR

The subject regarding CSR is a complicated one, as researchers apparently do not have a universal and widely accepted definition of CSR in the study of business ethics. Here, we shall adopt the CSR definition and model proposed by Frederick (from Mitnick, 1995). Frederick had separated the discussion of CSR into three models, namely CSR1, CSR2 and CSR3.

CSR1 is also referred to as the corporate social responsibilities. Under such framework, corporations are expected to conduct business according to two principles, namely the charity principle and the stewardship principle. Thus, in our context, according to the arguments of CSR1, managers should be aware of their responsibilities as the steward to use the data gathered from the internet in a proper manner. However, such a model is not sufficient, as the discussions are solely about theories and awareness, without significant emphasize on actions to be taken.

CSR2 however is about corporate social responsiveness, whereby under this CSR, the focus is how the corporations respond to the social pressures. Thus, it is managers’ roles to learn how to respond to social pressure through fruitful, humane and practical ways. In this context, the manager should manage its relationships with the society, particularly those internet users in a socially responsible manner. In this model, managers should take actions towards handling social pressure in an ethical manner.

The third model of CSR is CSR3, namely, corporate social rectitude. This model of CSR demands more from the managers, as it does not only acknowledge the centrality of ethical concerns in businesses, it also urge the corporations to (1) train managers so that they accept the central role of ethics in daily operations, (2) utilize advance analytical tools to deal with ethical issues, and (3) to align company policies to the core values emphasized in the culture of ethics. In this context, manager should have predefined policies, rules and regulations in dealing with the issues or dilemmas created by the business use of internet. Besides, managers should also have been trained to use ethical reasoning in dealing with ethical issues occurring in workplace.

Part II

Case Study

Facebook as well as other social media networks are becoming increasingly popular among people around the world. This makes Facebook a fertile ground for conducting business research. If marketers can understand important characteristics of a market segment, they can then organize their marketing plans and strategies accordingly. However, in one of the research conducted recently (Zimmer, 2010), many ethical issues had emerged due to improper handling of research findings as well as implementation of the research design process. Although the particulars of the subjects are largely hidden from the public, the subjects are nonetheless easily being traced and found out (Zimmer, 2010). As consequences, that put the subject under great risks, where their privacy is infringed, and demand us to view such issues seriously in the future.

Analysis of the Situation using Ethical Theories

It cannot be denied that many people perceive that internet as a public ‘space’. People understand that internet is an easily accessible medium. That perceptions combine with the ease of access put internet as an infrastructure of public is the main factor leading to various ethical dilemma in the context of business use of internet. As argued by Berry (2005), technical accessibility of internet should not be treated as a characteristic of public-ness. Thus, it is of the view that business researchers should not perceive or assume that information from internet can be used freely without attentions being paid to safeguard the interests of internet users. This is reasonable as internet users may not know that they words, responses, ideas, strands or information are utilized or manipulated for research purposes, whereby the objectives or findings of the research may or may not harm them in the future. Besides, as discussed above, it is critical for manager to understand that the privacy and confidentiality of internet users of whom the data is collected must be protected. The research through internet about other people is indeed still an issue under the scope of ‘human subjects’. It is critical that their consents are obtained before information related or gathered from them can be utilized. Besides, it is also crucial to ensure that the results derived from the survey will not harm the internet users in the future, or to expose them to high risks.

Suggestions of Ethical Actions

There are many ethical challenges to be handled by managers to handle the issues of ethical usage of internet for the purpose of business research. Proper guideline and policies can be set to ensure the managers follow a code of ethics or code of conducts when facing with dilemma in conducting business research online. In this section, several suggestions on how to deal with this are proposed.

Firstly, it is crucial for managers to develop new ethical mindset. It is found by researchers that many people consider performing unethical, illegal behaviors or wrong doings on internet or through usage of computer (such as engaging in software piracy, unethical use of internet resources, manipulation of social media network) is somehow not as ‘wrong’ as other ‘real’ illegal or unethical actions (Phukan, 2005). Such a perspective may cause managers to neglect the necessary care to be taken when gathering and conducting business research online. Specifically, manager should aware that performing unethical or illegal acts on internet is just as unethical or illegal. Having the awareness that it is necessary to conform to certain code of conducts when performing business research online is the very first step to be adopted by managers.

Several issues must be considered by managers. It is important to consider and implement the best approach to protect the privacy of the internet users used in research. Their respective confidential information must also be protected. Sensitive information should not be disclosed. Besides, the presentation of research results must be handled with care, as it is important to check if the presentation of research findings enables other to discern who the research participants are. Thus, it is highly important to disclose only those very important information to those who has a need to know the information. Disclosure of research findings to the public may create a lot of troubles or ethical issues in the latter day.

It is also important for managers to firstly obtain the consents from the website owners or the internet users (whom data or information will be used to conduct the research). Voluntary participation in the research designed is the best way to avoid ethical issues. Besides, it is also vital to inform the internet users that they are participating in a research, so that they are aware the consequences and potential implication of doing something on the internet.

Not only are that, managers should also strive to ensure that the research findings will not expose the internet users under researched to unwanted risks. It is not ethical to expose them to possibly harmful scenario in the future. The data or findings obtained should also be used to take advantage from the internet users being researched.

Overall, it is understood that mangers have the responsibilities to perform relevant stud and research before implementing a new marketing campaign, offering a new products or execution of a new strategy to bring the company to greater heights. It is indeed the vital duty and responsibilities of managers to work in a prudent and diligent manner to deliver value to the shareholders. However, the rights and interests of internet users being researched should also be neglected. It is critical for the manager to balance the need of the research to that of the subjects under researched (Berry, 2004).

Conclusion

The increasingly importance of internet in the past decade is a new phenomenon. Thus, the ethical theories and framework under such context is relatively few and new. That is particularly true for the topic of business use of internet for online research purposes. Overall, it is important for managers to understand that to conduct business research online must be performed ethically, although to do otherwise is easy, tempting and potentially highly profitable. Although there is no set guideline and legal laws governing such issues, it is still the responsibilities of managers to exercise ethical reasoning to deal with such issues.

References

Bao, Z., & Xiang, K. (2006). Digitalization and global ethics. Ethics and Information Technology, 8(1), 41-47.

Bassett, E. H., & O’Riordan, K. (2002). Ethics of Internet research: Contesting the human subjects research model. Ethics and Information Technology, 4(3), 233.

Berry, D. M. (2004). Internet research: privacy, ethics and alienation: an open source approach. Internet Research, 14(4), 323-332.

Capurro, R., & Pingel, C. (2002). Ethical issues of online communication research. Ethics and Information Technology, 4(3), 189.

Choi, C., & Berger, R. (2009). Ethics of Global Internet, Community and Fame Addiction. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(2), 193-200.

Lawrence, A. T. & Weber, J. (2008). Business and society: stakeholders, ethics, public policy (12^th ed.).McGraw-Hill, Irwin.

Mitnick, B. M. (1995). Systematics and CSR: The theory and processes of normative csr. Business and Society, 34(1), 5.

Phukan, S. (2005). Using Information Technology Ethically: New Dimensions in the Age of the Internet. The Business Review, Cambridge, 4(1), 234-239.

Walther, J. B. (2002). Research ethics in Internet-enabled research: Human subjects issues and methodological myopia. Ethics and Information Technology, 4(3), 205.

Zimmer, M. (2010). “But the data is already public”: on the ethics of research in Facebook. Ethics and Information Technology, 12(4), 313-325.

Appendix – Materials on Case Study

“But the data is already public”: on the ethics of research in Facebook

Michael Zimmer.

Ethics and Information Technology.

Dordrecht: Dec 2010. Vol. 12, Iss. 4; pg. 313.

Abstract (Summary)

In 2008, a group of researchers publicly released profile data collected from the Facebook accounts of an entire cohort of college students from a US university. While good-faith attempts were made to hide the identity of the institution and protect the privacy of the data subjects, the source of the data was quickly identified, placing the privacy of the students at risk. Using this incident as a case study, this paper articulates a set of ethical concerns that must be addressed before embarking on future research in social networking sites, including the nature of consent, properly identifying and respecting expectations of privacy on social network sites, strategies for data anonymization prior to public release, and the relative expertise of institutional review boards when confronted with research projects based on data gleaned from social media.