ABSTRACT
Marketing and consumer research has drawn attention to the positive and joyful emotional features of consumer tribes. However, research has little to say on boredom, an emotional state already prevalent in consumers' lives, yet exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic due to lockdown restrictions that prevented tribal consumption experiences. Informed by Heidegger's understanding of boredom as a fundamental mood tied to temporality, this research uses semi-structured interviews to identify two kinds of boredom – superficial and profound boredom – and their specific temporal dynamics. Superficial boredom is common and refers to a situational restlessness in which people desire distractions. In contrast, profound boredom refers to an existential discomfort in which people struggle with their sense of self, but ultimately can result in the discovery of tribal passions. We explain superficial boredom as a symptom of a dominant temporal regime that comprises connectivity and acceleration. Together these temporal logics fragment and compress time in ways that encourage mundane social media consumption that simply fills time. We also explain how profound boredom stems from an abundance of uninterrupted time spent in relative solitude. In extending Heidegger's theory of boredom to analyse contemporary boredom in an era where digital technology is ubiquitous, our research contributes to consumer research's understanding of mundane emotions and discusses what it means to be bored together.
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the course of the transformations of violence present in the human-animal relationship in multiple periods of time, using artistic expressions to contribute to this theme. The study uses a multidisciplinary approach from the fields of Arts, History, and Philosophy seeking contributions to the literature on marketing and consumer behavior. Visual critical analysis is the methodology used to analyze six works of art from different historical periods and to understand the human-animal relationship over time. Findings suggest that forms of violence are present in the transforming human-animal relationship. The research challenges the marketing domain of the discussion about this relationship, limited to positive experiences with companion animals;it brings interpretations of the ways of violence in the human- animal relationship over time to understand the meanings and practices of the present;adds elements aimed at discussions and reflections necessary for researchers and marketing professionals, on the human-animal relationship and violence.Alternate :Este estudo investiga o percurso das transformações da violência presente na relação homem-animal, em múltiplos períodos do tempo, recorrendo a expressões artísticas, de forma a trazer contribuições para esta temática. O estudo utiliza uma abordagem multidisciplinar dos campos das Artes, História e Filosofia buscando contribuições à literatura de marketing e comportamento do consumidor. A análise crítica visual é a metodologia utilizada na análise de seis obras de artes de diferentes períodos históricos e compreensão da relação homem-animal no tempo. Os achados sugerem formas de violência que estão presentes nessa relação e se transformam. A pesquisa desafia o domínio da discussão sobre a relação homem-animal no campo do marketing, circunscrita a experiências positivas com animais de companhia;traz interpretações dos caminhos da violência na relação homem-animal ao longo do tempo para melhor compreender significados e práticas do presente;adiciona elementos visando discussões e reflexões, necessárias a pesquisadores e profissionais de marketing, sobre a relação homem-animal e violência.Alternate :Este estudio investiga el curso de las transformaciones de la violencia presente en la relación humano-animal, en múltiples períodos del tiempo, utilizando expresiones artísticas, con el fin de traer contribuciones a esta temática. El estudio utiliza un enfoque multidisciplinario de los campos de las Artes, la Historia y la Filosofía en busca de contribuciones a la literatura sobre marketing y comportamiento del consumidor. El análisis crítico visual es la metodología utilizada para analizar seis obras de arte de diferentes períodos históricos y comprender la relación humano-animal a lo largo del tiempo. Los hallazgos sugieren formas de violencia que están presentes en esta relación y se transforman. La investigación desafía el dominio de la discusión sobre la relación humano-animal en el campo del marketing, limitada a experiencias positivas con animales de compañía;trae interpretaciones de las formas de violencia en la relación humano-animal a lo largo del tiempo para comprender mejor los significados y prácticas del presente;añade elementos destinados a discusiones y reflexiones, necesarias para investigadores y profesionales del marketing, sobre la relación humano-animal y la violencia.
ABSTRACT
In recent years, with the rise of the Internet, e-commerce has become an important field of commodity sales. However, e-commerce is affected by many factors, and the wrong judgment of supply and marketing relationships will bring huge losses to operators. Therefore, it is of great significance to establish a model that can effectively achieve high precision sales prediction for ensuring the sustainable development of e-commerce enterprises. In this paper, we propose an e-commerce sales forecasting model that considers the features of many aspects of correlation. In the first layer of the model, the temporal convolutional network (TCN) is used to extract the deep temporal characteristics of univariate sales historical data, which ensures the integrity of temporal information of sales characteristics. In the second layer, the feature selection method based on reinforcement learning is used to filter the effective correlation feature set and combine it with the temporal feature after processing, which not only improves the amount of effective information input by the model, but also avoids the high feature dimension. The third layer of the reformer model learns all the features and pays different attention to the features with different degrees of importance, ensuring the stability of the sales forecast. In the experimental part, we compare the proposed model with the current advanced sales forecasting model, and we can find that the proposed model has higher stability and accuracy.
ABSTRACT
Apesar do interesse pelo papel do consumo no processo de luto, o conceito de luto do consumidor e o processo através do qual os consumidores vivenciam o luto permanecem pouco estudados. Considerando a ruptura trazida pela pandemia da COVID-19 e a necessidade de entender como os consumidores respondem a esse cenário, este artigo tem como objetivo conceituar o luto do consumidor, entendendo os mecanismos criados pelos consumidores para lidar com a perda. Tendo em vista a importancia de experiencias extraordinarias e seus efeitos transformacionais no corpo e no tecido social, neste estudo netnográfico exploramos a perda de uma experiencia extraordinaria a partir da investigaçâo com corredores de maratona. O artigo evidencia que o consumidor lida com a perda da experiencia por meio de um processo composto por cinco mecanismos, mediados pelas redes sočiais, que permitem ao consumidor reverter, reenquadrar e restabelecer a experiencia perdida. Os mecanismos de refutaçâo, desespero, abstençâo-compensaçâo, transgress&acaron;o e aceitaçâo mostram como os consumidores se comportam nos diferentes momentos de luto, permitindo-lhes construir suas trajetórias no processo de luto, individual e coletivamente. Como contribuiçâo, expandimos a literatura sobre o luto do consumidor, explicando os processos pelos quais os consumidores passam quando lidam com a perda de uma experiencia. Além disso, apresentamos urna perspectiva coletiva sobre o processo de luto, deslocando a análise do luto de um individuo ou de urna unidade familiar para a socializaçâo do luto.Alternate :A pesar del interés en el papel del consumo en el proceso de duelo, el concepto de duelo del consumidor y el proceso que experimentan los consumidores cuando están en duelo siguen sin teorizarse. Considerando la disrupción provocada por la pandemia de COVID-19 y la necesidad de comprender cómo los consumidores responden a este escenario, este artículo tiene como objetivo conceptualizar el luto del consumidor, entendiendo los mecanismos creados por los consumidores para lidiar con la pérdida. Envista dela importancia de las experiencias extraordinarias y sus efectos transformadores sobre el cuerpo y el tejido social, en este estudio netnográfico exploramos la pérdida de una experiencia extraordinaria a partir de una investigación con corredores de maratón. Los consumidores afrontan la pérdida de la experiencia a través de un proceso compuesto por cinco mecanismos, mediados por las redes sociales, que les permiten revertir, replantear y restablecer la experiencia perdida. Los mecanismos de refutación, desesperación, abstención-compensación, transgresión y aceptación muestran cómo se comportan los consumidores en los diferentes momentos del duelo, permitiéndoles construir sus trayectorias en el proceso de duelo, de forma individual y colectiva. Como contribución, ampliamos la literatura sobre el duelo del consumidor enfocándonos en el concepto específico de duelo del consumidor, explicando los procesos que atraviesan los consumidores cuando enfrentan la pérdida de una experiencia. Adicionalmente, presentamos una perspectiva colectiva sobre el proceso de duelo, trasladando el análisis del duelo de un individuo o una unidad familiar a la socialización del duelo.Alternate :Despite the interest in the role of consumption in the bereavement process, the concept of consumer grief and the process consumers experience when grieving remain undertheorized. This article aims to conceptualize consumer grief considering the disruption brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to understand how consumers respond to this scenario, understanding the mechanisms consumers create to deal with loss. In view of the importance of extraordinary experiences due to their embodied, social, and transformational power, in this netnographic study, we explore marathon runners' loss of an extraordinary experience. Consumers deal with the loss of an experience through a process composed of five mechanisms mediated by social media, which nable consumers to reverse, reframe, and reestablish the experience. The mechanisms of refutation, despair, abstention-compensation, transgression, and acceptance show how consumers behave in different moments of grief, allowing them to build their trajectories in the grieving process, individually and collectively. As a contribution, we expand the literature on consumer grief by focusing on the specific concept of consumer grief, explaining the processes consumers go through when they deal with the loss of an experience. Additionally, we present a collective perspective on the grieving process, shifting the analysis of the grief of an individual or a family unit to the socialization of grief. Keywords: COVID-19. Consumer Grief. Grief. Extraordinary Experience.
ABSTRACT
Purpose>This research investigates and conceptualizes non-dyadic human–robot interactions (HRI).Design/methodology/approach>The authors conducted a netnographic study of the Facebook group called “iRobot – Roomba,” an online brand community dedicated to Roomba vacuums. Their data analysis employed an abductive approach, which extended the grounded theory method.Findings>Dyadic portrayals of human–robot interactions can be expanded to consider other actants that are relevant to the consumption experiences of consumer robots. Not only humans but also nonhumans, such as an online brand community, have a meaningful role to play in shaping interactions between humans and robots.Research limitations/implications>The present study moves theoretical discussions on HRI from the individual level grounded in a purely psychological approach to a more collective and sociocultural approach.Practical implications>If managers do not have a proper assessment of human–robot interactions that considers different actants and their role in the socio-technical arrangement, they will find it more challenging to design and suggest new consumption experiences.Originality/value>Unlike most previous marketing and consumer research on human–robot interactions, we show that different actants exert agency in different ways, at different times and with different socio-technical arrangements.
ABSTRACT
In a highly competitive market, such as that of pharmacies in Romania, the elements of visual identity help to seduce consumers, to recognize the brand of a pharmacy, making it easier to recognize and more familiar to a consumer. The paper aims to identify the main elements of visual identity used on the Romanian pharmaceutical market and to determine the opinions, attitudes and perceptions of consumers regarding these elements. For this purpose, an exploratory analysis was performed combined with a quantitative market research.
ABSTRACT
Purpose>Online service brand communities (OBCs) are an essential services marketing channel and relationship marketing tool, in which social capital (SC) is a critical success factor. Underpinned in social identity and social exchange theories, this paper aims to explore the effects of SC on customer brand engagement (CBE), considering the roles of collective psychological ownership (CPO), customer citizenship behaviour (CCB) and perceived community support (PCS).Design/methodology/approach>The research model was tested using survey data from 256 participants;137 from the Xiaomi Community and 119 from the Huawei Fan Club. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling analysis was used.Findings>SC drives CBE. CPO and CCB are important mediators, whilst PCS is an important moderator.Practical implications>Brand marketers need to foster SC in OBCs to achieve the maximum level of customer engagement. The authors provide recommendations as to how to build structural, relational and cognitive SC, as well as CPO, CCB and PCS. In short, brand marketers need to foster an interactive, empowering and supportive environment.Originality/value>The authors further service research around the humanisation of technology. Specifically, OBCs are social spaces for brands and customers, and a key enabler of relationship marketing principles, such as CBE. The authors test the roles of structural, cognitive and relational SC in engagement in OBCs, through CPO and CCB. This holistic picture of engagement in OBCs is an important foundation for future service research.
ABSTRACT
Purpose>Despite luxury's increasing globalization and broadening scope via digitalization and new markets, the intellectual structure of the overall research corpus remains tenuous. This work therefore aims to provide an overview of published work on international luxury marketing and to contribute to a better understanding of the research area.Design/methodology/approach>Using a systematic approach, 1151 items (papers) were retrieved and 181 selected from the international luxury marketing field published before 2019. These items were analyzed by using various bibliometric techniques to identify the most productive countries, journals, influential authors, papers and research clusters.Findings>Although most of the outputs originate from business, management and marketing journals, other disciplines also research this topic. The analysis reveals an emerging field, with 85% of the published papers appearing between 2010 and 2018, which are primarily the output of US- and UK-based authors and none of whom dominates the field. The three identified keyword clusters are (1) consumers and consumption (2) tools and (3) core themes.Practical implications>This article contributes to our understanding of the evolution, current status and research trends of published research on international luxury marketing by presenting a mapping analysis and proposing future research directions.Originality/value>This is the first bibliometric mapping analysis of research on the topic from its conception to 2019. It contributes insights from different research disciplines, adds to the categorization of the international luxury marketing literature and provides promising future research directions in terms of research areas and strategies.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The paper explains to what extent selected sociodemographic, psychographic and economic factors differentiate attitudes of Poles towards corruption. Design/Methodology/Approach: The results come from an empirical study based on a representative sample of adult Poles conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). The subject of statistical analysis were the following three complementary issues, the scale of corruption in the opinion and common experience of Poles, moral attitudes of Poles towards the phenomenon of corruption and sociodemographic predictors of the corruption phenomenon. Additionally, we measured the scale of corruption in the opinion and common experience of Poles. At the stage of data analysis, multi-dimensional modeling with the use of optimal scaling (CATREG) was selected and descriptive and inductive statistics were used. Findings: The regression model for qualitative variables revealed an increased consent to the phenomenon of corruption in such groups as, age (the youngest respondents 18-24), occupation (industrial workers and craftsmen, school and university students, office workers) and political self-identification on the left-right scale. The greatest tolerance towards corruption - according to their declarations - have far right-wing and left-wing people, as well as those without specific views. The remaining components of the model, such as place of residence (voivodship), marital status and total crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, are of secondary importance. Practical implications: The results of the research made possible to make two other important conclusions. Firstly, according to Poles, the phenomenon of corruption has significantly decreased over the last few years. The respondents estimated that it is now much smaller than in 2017. Secondly, we compared the obtained results with other global studies. Originality value: We noticed that there is a gap between the opinions of experts (Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index) and the opinions of ordinary people about the size and dynamics of corruption in Poland. We have given plausible explanations for these phenomena. This is the first study of this type conducted in Poland since 2017 (not including the Transparency International's Corruption Barometer, which, however, pursued different goals).
ABSTRACT
Purpose:This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design:This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.Findings:The authors outline pivotal changes in luxury marketing including the growing prominence of emerging nations and technology adoption. A systematic review of luxury marketing literature reveals that most research is still centered around developed nations. The field has a relatively low impact and no dominant authors. The research content does not converge with luxury industry trends. This provides an exciting contribution opportunity for academic researchers.Originality:The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format
ABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of online sports betting on the perceived economic wellbeing of student-athletes using the regression analysis with an interaction effect used to test the effect of demographic variables on the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Correlation analysis was used to test the relationship between independent variables. The findings reveal that there was a positive and significant association3 between gambling severity and economic wellbeing. The study revealed that students' sports bet online with large amounts of money to get the feeling of excitement. Sports betting leads to overspending which can disrupt home life to such an extent that it has some social effects such as the break-up of families. Sometimes due to sports betting the only deceptive course of action that seems to remain too often may lead the bettor to commit suicide.
ABSTRACT
In the focus of this paper is comprehensive statistical analysis of the public opinion survey on the intention and motives of emigration of young people aged 18 to 40 residing in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The emphasis is on the »push« and »pull« emigration factors, dominant directions, contemporary goals of emigration and changes in the demographic structure of emigrants. Two - step stratified random sample was used for hypothesis testing considering the correlations between distributions according to the age of the respondents, their place of residence, level of education, current employment status, satisfaction with the salary of those employed as well as satisfaction with life in domicile state. The paper also intends to shed light on the demographic problem, and in particular the "brain drain" as the fundamental obstacle to Croatian socio-econiomic development. Namely, when highly educated young population emigrates into the more developed EU countries, in accordance with the European free labour market, less developedEU countries have been left with their educational debts. Through their work in more developed EU countries they have unintentionally been contributing to the growing socio-economic development gap. Moreover, after Brexit, the more developed EU countries are in favour of a significant reduction of European cohesion funds which can and should depreciate the growing economic development gap in contemporary EU. All the more so as the Covid-19 pandemic has made that disparity worse many times over.
ABSTRACT
Purpose:This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design:This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.Findings:The authors outline pivotal changes in luxury marketing including the growing prominence of emerging nations and technology adoption. A systematic review of luxury marketing literature reveals that most research is still centered around developed nations. The field has a relatively low impact and no dominant authors. The research content does not converge with luxury industry trends. This provides an exciting contribution opportunity for academic researchers.Originality:The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format
ABSTRACT
Purpose of the Study: This paper aims to systematically review the literature available concerning the COVID-19 pandemic in the consumer domain Methodology: We conducted a systematic literature review with 21 papers from the Scopus database that discussed the impacts of this crisis on consumer behavior. We answered the following questions: What topics are being explored by the literature? What issues did COVID-19 bring to consumers' lives? How will the COVID-19 affect consumer behavior? How to respond to the consequences that this pandemic is bringing? What are the future topics that need an investigation from the literature? Main Results: We show how consumers are reacting to the crisis by adopting panic behavior and stocking basic products. To reduce physical distancing and psychological stress, consumers are using more technology and do-it-yourself activities. Companies are addressing those issues by limiting consumption and communicating to the customers the actions that they are taking, which for the customers are fundamental. Theoretical and Methodological Contributions: We contribute to the literature of consumer behavior by providing evidence-based results that show how the pandemic has been affecting the consumer domain. Relevance/Originality: The pandemic has been affecting consumer behavior and few studies are seeking to summarize the results of the research conducted and providing an overview of the topic in consumer research. Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic;Consumer Research;Literature Review;
ABSTRACT
PurposeThis article lays out some conceptual considerations of how dynamic accountability and risk reporting practices could be tailored during and after a global pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper seeks to foster the debate on the crucial role of risk reporting considering the impact and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and stakeholder information needs in this context. The authors draw upon neo-Durkheimian institutional and legitimacy theories and elements of the accounting and risk management literature to discuss the challenges that the pandemic poses to risk recognition and assessment and the subsequent disclosure decision of risk information.FindingsRisk reporting has its roots in risk recognition and assessment. To live up to their accountability in these times of uncertainty, organisations need to address their stakeholders' new and changing information needs. Ad hoc disclosures and linking risk management and reporting to their business models (BM) would improve the risk recognition and assessment practices and the meaningfulness of the disclosed information. Hence, we provide some examples and discuss potential avenues to address these challenges and adapt risk reporting accordingly.Originality/valueThis conceptual paper contributes to the risk reporting and accountability research fields. Previous studies on communication during a crisis have focused on sustainability reporting. Thus, this study contributes to that literature by considering the role of risk reporting in times of an unexpected large-scale global crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and by highlighting possibilities for moving risk reporting towards becoming more accountability based.
ABSTRACT
In this year of 2020, 40 papers were published in four issues of the Brazilian Journal of Marketing (BJMkt) / Revista Brasileira de Marketing (ReMark). Its authors come from 15 Brazilian states, covering all its regions, and some foreign countries. It means an extensive recognition of the Journal by the academic Marketing community. We are very grateful for the essential collaboration of the reviewers, who lend competence to the evolution of third-party manuscripts, in one of the most important stages of the editorial process in a periodic. They provide evolution and learning for the authors even when the manuscript is not accepted for publication. We were pledged by the permanent dedication to the Journal of the librarian Cristiane dos Santos Monteiro. Support has also always come from Editora UNINOVE, the director of the Graduate Program in Administration at UNINOVE, Priscila Rezende da Costa, and from professor José Eduardo Storopoli. A phenomenon dominated the year on the Planet Earth: the disease (Covid-19) caused by the new coronavirus (Sars-Cov-2), with alarming levels of contamination. In March, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic state;nine months have passed (OPAS, 2020). A global public health crisis took place. It would be the real milestone to distinguish the beginning of the XXI Century (Jansen, 2020). Virtually no one in the current world population has lived a similar precedent, since the Spanish Flu pandemic had ended (curiously) a century ago (Martino, 2017;Barry, 2020). So long afterwards, humanity's vulnerability to a viral pathology is surprising. Metaphorical descriptions range from the audience of a heady science-fiction film to a huge fireplace in which we are all burning (Muhammet, Alfiya, Masalimova, Cherdymova & Shaidullina, 2020). The pandemic has generated and continues to generate profound impacts in several human, social, business and governmental dimensions. It is not even known when its adverse effects on society will disappear, despite the well-founded expectations regarding vaccines, with numerous development projects, both in the West and in the East. Health Sciences, in its various branches, continues to research the prevention and treatment of the new and complicated pathology (Carvalho, Lima & Coeli, 2020;Heymann & Shindo, 2020). On this front, even though health management in Brazil appears abroad as one of the most complicated case in the application of Science (Gostin, 2020), it is the base that can be counted on. With it, the countries of the United Kingdom, this December, became the first in the West in vaccination against the illness;and seek to achieve record speed in the immunization process (Strasburg and Fidler, 2020);it is the struggle of all nations. This scientific effort has repercussions, as never before, in people's daily lives. It is not from today the recognition of the role of Science in crisis situations, when fundamental needs of the human species are put in check (Oliveira, 1998). But, in the present, the press constantly brings news to laypeople about scientific results and perspectives. Despite some noise controversies, the majority of the population acknowledges and values the crucial role of Science, which advances, with determination and sacrifice, in understanding the ecosystem that has the new disease at its center (Lipsitch, Swerdlow & Finelli, 2020;Velloso, 2020). Only Science can find solutions to remedy the crisis or, at least, alleviate its implications and this unique role is recognized by the population. It is the way to develop ways to face fear, deprivation, anxiety, impatience, pain, and, at the limit, death and hopelessness. The commitment goes far beyond the Health Sciences, spreading to practically all fields. Demography (Dowd, Andriano, Brazel, Rotondi, Block et al., 2020), Criminology (Ashby, 2020), Engineering (Goel, Hawi, Goel, Thakur, Agrawal et. Al., 2020) and Librarianship (Ali & Gatiti, 2020) are some examples of this scope. Even in the Administration sphere, there are initiatives in several disciplines (Zhang Hu & Ji, 2020), in the business and also public domains (Lunn, Belton, Lavin, McGowan, Timmons & Robertson, 2020). On the other hand, the tremendous and understandable interest, in most people, in news about the pandemic, its consequences and solutions, can open space to the temptation of distorted practices, if not of frauds covered with science or pseudoscience (Scheirer, 2020;Berruyer, 2020). It is essential to speed up the preliminary availability of research results, but this practice also poses risks to the quality of scientific production and to the dissemination to practitioners. Just think of the controversy surrounding the potential curative or not of the drug Hydroxychloroquine (Gautret, Lagier, Parola, Hoang, Meddeb et al., 2020). We move on to Marketing! An unusual and significant phenomenon such as the pandemic must have multiple repercussions on the models and theories of Marketing, leaving to decipher them. This year, two articles in ReMark addressed the phenomenon: “COVID-19 pandemic: trails for future marketing research involving the regulatory role of prosocial consumption”, in issue 3;“The intention of prevention and future spending during COVID-19: a study considering decision-making at risk”, in this number 4. These are initial steps and so many others will come right here. In parallel, there is a succession of commercial research and practitioners' reflections on the immediate and more lasting consequences of the pandemic. Several Brazilian and global market research and consulting firms have completed surveys with consumers and companies. They cover consumer behavior as much as marketing management. The press, in general and specialized newspapers and magazines, disseminates these findings. The own media of research and consultancy companies do so on websites, blogs and social networks. Along these lines, PwC (2020) compared city dwellers in many countries (including Brazil) before and after the pandemic. It provided insights into the reinvention - in progress and possibly in the future - of people's shopping, consumption, learning, communication, entertainment and work journeys, amid the accelerated use of digital channels. It outlined implications for managing market relationship, which requires reinvention. GfK (2020) mapped consumption and post-crisis habits in Brazil, with subsidies for the management in the reality of the 'new normal', a modified standard of normality. It took into account characteristics of the population (high proportion of people with low income and education) and other dimensions of the country's macro environment (previous years of economic crisis, unemployment rate, health). GfK still publishes, twice a month, an updated picture of the 'consumer pulse' in face of the new coronavirus. KANTAR (2020) has published more than 10 editions of its research on the influences of the pandemic on consumers in Brazil. In one of the latter, it reports the intention of many people to maintain behavioral changes in the 'new reality' to come (although it is not known when it will come). IPSOS (2020) investigated changes in the consumer's life in the country in terms of shopping hours, migration between channels, determinants, reasons and barriers to purchase, under the effects of uncertainty, tensions and fears. It added a new meaning to the role of buyer. It discussed the changes already manifested and the prospect of continuity beyond the pandemic. NIELSEN (2020) unveiled six key stages in the consumer adaptation process, associated with concerns about the pandemic, as well as the heterogeneity in Brazilian regions, states and cities, interspersed with much learning about consumption. It alerted companies to opportunities to raise awareness of consumers about the crisis and, thus, strengthen ties with them and expand business ahead. This is just an excerpt from a large collection, very useful and praiseworthy. But that is more “market” or “problem solving” research (Hunt, 2015: 64-66), with its undeniable value. Such collection, however, is not a substitute for sci ntific research, capable of providing genuine new, validated and generalizable contribution to the discipline of Marketing, in general, and in the field of Consumer Behavior, in particular. Maintaining a critical spirit, Bunge's lesson (1998: 3-6) is taken: science is not just an extension or even a mere refinement of common knowledge. Science constitutes knowledge of a special kind, since it deals primarily (though not only) with unobservable events, not suspected by the layperson, articulates conjectures beyond ordinary knowledge and tests such them with the help of special techniques. Therefore, there would be no way to take commercial research as Science. Continuing with the solid foundations of Bunge (1998), we turn to the contexts of discovery and justification. The discovery also emerges from non-scientific means (such as creativity and inspiration), which attracts more the attention of the press. Yet justification - reasoning about evidence, replicability, substantiating hypotheses, empirical testing of propositions and theories, validity, etc. - is linked to the scientific method and its agents (scientists). Marketing research - academic, guided by the scientific method - is also already engaged in the investigation of the ongoing and intricate reality of the pandemic. Its pace is not what you would like and need. We did not have significant budgets for Marketing research in Brazil;such a resource has now become even more scarce. However, the mobilization of other resources - especially the training and intrinsic motivation of the researchers - will bear fruit in this situation, when their contributions are potentially useful as never before. ReMark / BJMkt has its doors open to welcome advances in this direction. Increasing itsspeed is a challenge to be faced. Challenge that constitutes an exceptional opportunity to legitimize Marketing as Science. The Brazilian Journal of Marketing adhere and is open to initiatives towards such target. We sincerely wish you, the reader, strength, health and overcoming, in addition to productivity, in 2021! Good reading!