Potential Malpractice Lawsuits: NEW IMPETUS FOR THE MARKETING PROFESSION TO ADOPT RESEARCH STANDARDS?

Highlights the fact that whereas, until recently, defendants in professional malpractice lawsuits were typically accountants, attorneys and physicians, potential liability for malpractice is now faced by marketing research professionals, as a result of their increasing involvement in their clients′ decisionmaking processes. Argues that the researcher′s strongest defense would be adherence to formally recognized research standards adopted by the marketing profession. Addresses the question: what is professional malpractice? Describes how it may occur in marketing research, what the new duties of the marketing research professional should be, and how professional standards could help researchers to defend malpractice claims.